Fuel prices continue on a downward path for a third week
Prices for motor fuels have fallen by more than one percent, extending a downward trend that has been in place for about two months. The weekly movement keeps the market on a gentler decline, offering some relief to drivers across the region.
Unleaded gasoline showed a notable decrease of 1.17 percent versus the previous week, according to data gathered by the European Union Petroleum Bulletin and reported by Europa Press. The current price stands around 1,600 euros per liter, marking the eighth consecutive weekly drop.
Diesel also pulled back for the seventh straight week, dropping 1.87 percent to approximately 1,577 euros per liter.
Even with these declines, fuel prices remain above the levels seen before the crisis intensified. The conflict involving Russia, which began on February 24, 2022, is linked to a price point of about 1,479 euros per liter for diesel and 1,592 euros per liter for gasoline in that period.
Looking back to the summer of 2022, the peaks were higher: gasoline reached around 2,141 euros per liter and diesel about 2.1 euros per liter. The current movement, however, continues to pull both fuels away from those highs.
Diesel is nearly six euros cheaper than in 2022
At today’s prices, filling an average 55-liter tank with gasoline costs about 88 euros. That figure is roughly two euros more than in 2022, when costs hovered around 86 euros after accounting for a 20-cent-per-liter discount that was in effect at the time.
For diesel vehicles, the same 55-liter fill requires around 86.7 euros, about six euros less than in the corresponding period in 2022, when the price was near 92 euros, factoring in the prior discount.
The energy crisis that surged last year, driven by the war in Ukraine, prompted a minimum 20-cent-per-liter bonus for all citizens as part of the government’s response plan. This measure helped cushion fuel costs during the crisis.
Diesel has remained cheaper than gasoline for 39 consecutive weeks, a pattern that aligns with prewar dynamics when diesel generally traded at a premium to gasoline from August 2022 until mid-February of the current year. The price dynamics shifted after that period.
Fuel pricing is influenced by multiple factors, including the intrinsic price of fuel separate from oil, movements in crude oil, taxes, raw materials, logistics costs, and gross margins. While crude oil price changes do not translate into immediate fuel price moves, there is typically a lag before those shifts show up in pump prices.
Prices in Spain sit below the European average
Current levels show 95 octane unleaded gasoline in Spain priced below the European Union average of 1,722 euros per liter and the euro zone average of 1,772 euros.
Diesel in Spain also remains below the EU average, with a price around 1,703 euros and about 1,729 euros in the euro zone.
Attributions: Europes Press and the European Union Petroleum Bulletin contributed to the data used in these observations.