Perpetual increase in fuel prices. The petrol and diesel add up to six weeks; that’s one cost increase from 10.3% this summer in Spain. Refueling is having a greater impact on citizens’ wallets as fuel consumption levels have peaked in 2023 so far.
At a time when the price hike is starting to be a constant and the latest CPI is up 2.3% in anticipation of the August data, which doesn’t seem to bode well, the rise in the gas price also coincides with major summer departure operations, such as this week’s bridge, which is estimated to have made around 8.5 million road trips.
Gasoline is at its highest since late November, but now without a subsidy
Especially this week, gasoline has become more expensive by 0.71% compared to seven days ago, to 1,692 euros per liter, their highest value since the end of November, although the government has introduced a subsidy of 20 cents per liter due to the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine
This figure also comes after recording a 6.28% gain from early July levels.
As for diesel, on the other hand, dealing with the increase in the cost of refueling in Spain, its average price also chained an increase (+2.19%) for the sixth consecutive week, reaching a figure of 1,586 euros per liter not seen since the middle of last March, according to the European Union Oil Bulletin.
I’m counting from July when this was feared to be an upward spiralThe average price for a liter of diesel increased by 10.3%.
In this way, both gasoline and diesel prices are also stabilizing above the level at which they rose before the outbreak of war in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion that began on February 24, 2022. In the case of diesel, it was 1,479 euros per liter, and for petrol, it was 1,594 euros per liter.
However, the highs remain with those registered more than a year ago, when petrol reached 2.141 euros and diesel 2.1 euros in July.
Filling up with petrol is 5.23 euros more expensive than in 2022
To put it more simply and clearly, refueling costs money today 5.23 euros more than it did in the same period of 2022. This calculation is based on the estimate that filling an average 55-liter tank currently costs around 93.06 euros, compared to the average 87.83 euros it cost then, including the 20-cent discount that was applied a year ago.
A full tank of diesel now costs 87.33 euros, compared to 88.33 euros (€1.1 less) at this time last year, including a 20-cent subsidy discount.
Diesel is 26 weeks below the price of petrol
On the other hand, when analyzing the upward spiral of fuel, it should be noted that diesel has already been below the price of gasoline for 26 consecutive weeks, maintaining the usual situation before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused the price from August 2022 to mid-February this year Diesel oil has been consistently more expensive than gasoline when this momentum was broken.
This Thursday, the Brent crude benchmark in Europe traded at $83.77 mean, while the Texas American was exchanged for $79.69.
In this sense, the price of fuels responds to several factors, such as its specific price (independent of the price of oil), the evolution of crude oil, taxes, raw material, and logistics costs, and gross margins. In addition, the development of the crude oil price is not directly transferred to fuel prices but only with a time lag.
The fuel price is lower in Spain than in the EU area
Overall, the price of unleaded gasoline 95 in Spain remains below the European Union average, which is 1.813 euros per liter, and from the eurozone, with an average price of 1.874 euros.
Also for diesel, the price in Spain is below the EU average, which is 1,715 euros, and the euro area, where it is 1,759 euros.
