ARCHIVED - Users of butane gas bottles in Spain hit with biggest price hike since 2018
The price of a butane gas bottle in Spain will rise by 68 cents to €14.64 from Tuesday, May 18.
The cost of a butane gas bottle will see its biggest price hike in Spain since 2018 from Tuesday, May 18, a rise of 4.87 per cent, shooting from €13.96 to €14.64.
This is the third price increase in 2021 and the cost has risen by almost €2 since November last year, having a big effect on households which use gas for hot water, heating and cooking.
The cost of a butane cylinder went up by 4.96 per cent at the end of March, and it was predicted then that there could be a further increase to compensate for rising costs of gas and its transportation.
Prices peaked in November 2018 when a bottle set consumers back €15.33.
The Official State Gazette (BOE) published the latest revision of the maximum selling price of packaged liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) in containers of between eight and 20 kilos (traditional butane cylinder) - which is made every two months - today, Monday, May 17.
The price is calculated based on the cost of the raw material (propane and butane) in international markets, as well as the cost of freight (transportation) and the evolution of the euro-dollar exchange rate, with the rise and fall of the price being limited to five per cent.
On this occasion, the increase will be due to "the effect of the deficit to be compensated from the previous two-month period and despite the fall in international prices (-6.7 per cent), according to the BOE.
Bottled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly composed of butane, and 68 million containers of different capacities are currently consumed in Spain, of which 53 million (78 %) are subject to the maximum regulated price.
Consumption of this type of fuel is in decline in Spain, and from 2009 to 2018 has fallen by 20 per cent, according to data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
Image: Archive