Little by little, for five consecutive weeks the prices of gasoline have been climbing until they are at a level very similar to that of August last year, when the energy crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine soared the quotation of hydrocarbons on international markets. A liter of gasoline cost 1.68 euros on average at Spanish outlets this Monday, 1.8% more than the previous week and just two cents less than the 1.7 euros in the same week last year, according to the Petroleum Bulletin of the European Union.
The increase in prices is recorded a few days before the August 15 bridge, one of the busiest by road of the whole year. The usual increase in demand comes in a summer in which, moreover, all tourist records are being broken and in which the DGT predicts 95 million journeys.
Between April and December of last year, the Central Government applied the bonus of 20 cents per liter to fuels to contain the impact of the war in Ukraine. This served so that, at the worst moment, in July 2022, when gasoline cost 2.1 euros per liter, consumers paid 1.9 euros. A month later, in August, the vacation month par excellence, it started at levels of 1.7 euros, similar to those of now. Filling an average tank of 55 liters of petrol costs 92.4 euros these days.
The liter of diesel is, on the other hand, cheaper compared to last year. It currently costs 1.55 euros on average, despite the fact that it has registered the largest weekly increase since the beginning of the year, of 3.3%. Its price is fourteen cents below that of a year ago and filling the tank costs 85.2 euros.
In the annual comparison, diesel also comes out better. The current price is lower than what was recorded in the first three months of the year and the difference compared to petrol is increasing. In July last year, petrol and diesel cost almost the same.
From the association of oil operators AOP allude to the international quotations to explain the behavior of the two products. "We have observed increases in both crude oil and refined product prices throughout the month of July, which are the ones that really influence fuel prices", they indicate.
In the background there is the production cut by Saudi Arabia, the upward revision of the demand forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the reduction of inventories in the United States. Of course, "China is showing signs of weakness" and this could contain prices, indicate from the AOP.
The barrel of Brent oil is trading at $83, the highest since January, although it was trading at $96 in August last year. A report from Oanda does not rule out that an improvement in the economic outlook will raise it above 90 dollars.
As for business margins, the latest monitoring report from the CNMC, from June, indicates that they have dropped by 3.4% in the case of gasoline, and 1.9% in the case of diesel. It also shows that it is still cheaper to stock up at a supermarket or low-cost petrol station, with differences of 8.4 cents in petrol and 10.5 in diesel.
One factor that pushes up the prices of petrol compared to diesel is the change that the Spanish market is experiencing, becoming less and less dependent on diesel. According to the latest registration data from the association of vehicle manufacturers Anfac, in July only 11.9% of those sold were diesel, compared to 42.4% of gasoline and 45.7% of alternatives , among which the vast majority are non-plug-in hybrids that move, above all, with a gasoline engine.
The prices known yesterday are just a statistical average. On the Geoportal of the Ministry of Industry, you can see in detail and discover that the most expensive petrol station is in Menorca, near the Maó airport, where a liter of petrol costs 1.99 euros. In Madrid there are already a dozen service stations with a liter above 1.8 euros, and one, in Las Rozas, at 1.92 euros. In Barcelona, the most expensive price is 1.83 euros, and the cheapest, 1.48 euros, in Olèrdola.
