ARCHIVED - Fuel prices in Spain reach an all-time high
The cost of filling a tank in Spain is higher now than it was in 2012
At the height of coronavirus confinement in May 2020, the cost of petrol and diesel dropped to an all-time low, but since then the price of fuel has been increasing relentlessly to reach its highest figure ever in 2022.
Filling a tank has never been so expensive and at 1.53 euros per litre, petrol is now one cent higher than the previous record set all the way back in September 2012. The situation isn’t much better when it comes to diesel, as this fuel is just three cents off its highest-ever record also.
Thus, filling a petrol tank with 55 litres of unleaded today will cost an average of 84.50 euros, while back in May 2020, when the roads were empty in Spain due to the national lockdown, it cost just 60 euros. In the case of diesel, a full tank will now set you back 77.90 euros, compared to the 54.20 euros charged during confinement.
The main reason for these skyrocketing prices is the increase in the cost of oil due to a decision by OPEC countries to reduce crude oil production at the height of the pandemic in an effort to recover fuel prices following an industry collapse.
The increase in prices has unsurprisingly resulted in a decrease in fuel consumption of around 20%, something which is devastating service stations across Spain but may be good news for an environment saturated by pollution from burning fossil fuels.
The president of the Provincial Association of Service Stations, Emilio Córcoles, explained that, "contrary to what people might think, the increase in prices does not benefit us at all, since we charge a commission per litre, and the less we sell, the less we receive”.
To ease the burden, the government has been calling on fuel suppliers to reduce the VAT rate, as has been done with electricity, but transport companies are less than hopeful and worry about the future of the industry.
Image: Archive
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