Germany will release part of its oil reserve as global energy costs soar as a result of the Middle East war, Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche has said, AFP reports.

This should help bring down the world oil price, Reiche said, noting that fellow members of the International Energy Agency were also struggling with rising prices.

Petrol stations in Germany would meanwhile be obliged to limit their price rises to one per day, Reiche said, adding that past crises had shown that costs at the pump tended to rise rapidly with the oil price, but fall more slowly.

“We have therefore decided to limit the frequency of price changes,” Reiche said.

“Petrol stations are only allowed to increase their fuel prices once a day. But price reductions are allowed at any time.”