The latest weekly tracking shows gasoline and diesel costs rising in Spain, confirming a continued uptrend for the fifth straight week. Gasoline increased by about 1.8 percent, while diesel rose around 3.4 percent, signaling a return to price levels seen roughly a year ago during the holiday period.
Data from the European Union Petroleum Bulletin, which gathers figures from more than 11,400 stations across Spain for the period August 1 through August 7, indicate that the average price of gasoline stood slightly above 1.68 euros per liter, with diesel averaging about 1.553 euros per liter.
The consecutive advance outpaced records from mid-2022, a period marked by the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The government previously kept a 20-cent per liter discount in place, a measure that continues to influence pricing.
When the discount was applied last year, the average price of gasoline from July 26 to August 1 was around 1.702 euros per liter, and without the bonus it would have been roughly 1.902 euros per liter, aligning with a major operation that occurred that summer.
One week later, the price of gasoline slipped to about 1.66 euros per liter including the discount, which implies a price of roughly 1.86 euros per liter without it.
It is important to note that the comparison from the Petroleum Bulletin reflects prices paid by consumers at the pump, including the effect of the 20-cent bonus in 2022.
Excluding this subsidy and focusing on the gross averages published by the Oil Bulletin, last week gasoline hovered near 1.688 euros per liter, or 1.488 euros per liter when the discount is not counted. Diesel, meanwhile, reached a post-March high of about 1.546 euros per liter.
Currently, gasoline costs about 1.2 percent more than a year ago, while diesel shows a decrease of roughly 6.11 percent.
During the first week of 2023, the discount effects persisted into late December, with gasoline rising by about 21.5 percent and diesel by 6.37 percent. Looking at data from one month prior, gasoline is about 5.4 percent higher and diesel roughly 7.8 percent higher.
Prices for both fuels remain well below the peaks reached in June 2022, with gasoline about 13.4 percent cheaper and diesel approximately 18.3 percent cheaper today.
At current levels, pumping a 55-liter tank with gasoline would cost around 92.4 euros, while a diesel fill would be near 85.41 euros.
Amid continuing fluctuations in oil markets, Spain’s fuel prices stay beneath the EU average, where gasoline is around 1.802 euros per liter and diesel near 1.689 euros.
By contrast, the eurozone average shows gasoline around 1.862 euros per liter and diesel above 1.725 euros.