This downward trend affected both petrol and diesel in the past two months. With the government’s 20-cent per liter fuel bonus in place, there was a little more breathing room during what turned out to be the most expensive August bridge in history for Spanish drivers.
EU data published this Thursday in the Petroleum Bulletin show the average price registered across more than 11,400 Spanish service stations from August 9 to 15. In Spain, petrol averaged 1.597 euros per liter, while diesel averaged 1.606 euros per liter. These figures mark the highest August values in the long-running historical series, yet they remained 18% and 15% below the peaks recorded at the start of summer. The surge in prices also reflects the ongoing impact of the war in Ukraine on energy markets.
Filling a typical 55-liter tank with either petrol or diesel now costs around 88 euros, according to current calculations. That translates to roughly 19 euros less than two months earlier for petrol and about 16 euros less for diesel. Compared with the same period last year, Spaniards paid around 10 euros more for petrol and nearly 20 euros more for diesel, highlighting how prices have shifted year over year.
The most expensive August bridge in history
Even with a few weeks of price declines for petrol and diesel, the current levels stand as record highs for a long weekend in August. This period is typically one of the year’s busiest on Spanish roads, when travel surges with families and tourists on holiday. The latest projections from the DGT forecast more than seven million trips between August 11 and 15, a 2.2% rise compared with the same dates last year.
To date, the August 15 price highs are unmatched since 2012. Back then, petrol was about 1.47 euros per liter and diesel around 1.395 euros per liter, which were 8% and 13% lower, respectively, than current values. The August diet of prices also outstrips the levels seen last August, before the summer rebound, when petrol and diesel reached around 1.417 and 1.266 euros per liter, respectively, as activity began to pick up after the pandemic.
But even without the government discount, current figures would look steeper—gasoline around 1.797 euros and diesel around 1.806 euros per liter. The discount thus saves petrol and diesel customers about 11 euros per fill ups on average, offering real relief in the current price environment.
Additionally, prices today sit below the European average that existed at the end of March, when the bonus was approved and prices without discounts began to exceed 2 euros per liter.
Cheaper than the European average
Despite the historically high levels in Spain, the relative tax relief on petrol and diesel paired with the government bonus keeps Spain below the European average for these fuels. Current averages sit at about 1.774 euros for gasoline and 1.804 euros for diesel, both below the EU mean. Across Europe, Finland leads for the most expensive gasoline at 2.122 euros per liter and Denmark closely follows at 2.116 euros. Sweden and Finland top the diesel prices at 2.259 euros and 2.084 euros per liter, respectively.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Hungary and Malta report the lowest gasoline prices on the continent, with numbers around 1.294 euros in Hungary and 1.34 euros in Malta. Diesel prices are cheapest in Malta at about 1.21 euros per liter and in Hungary at roughly 1.551 euros per liter.
When compared with neighboring countries, Spain’s average pump prices remain among the lowest in Western Europe. Germany, France, Italy, and Portugal show higher levels for both fuels, with gasoline edging toward 1.77 to 1.79 euros per liter in most cases and diesel often near 1.88 to 1.92 euros per liter. This relative pricing landscape helps explain why Spain, despite recent spikes, still presents a comparatively favorable reading for travelers and daily drivers in Europe and, by extension, for readers in Canada and the United States watching European energy markets from afar.