Spain has seen a continuous decline in fuel prices, hitting new summer lows for the fourth consecutive week. According to the European Union’s Oil Bulletin, both petrol and diesel prices have dropped significantly.
The price of diesel has fallen to €1.473 per litre, a 0.67% decrease from last week’s €1.483 per litre. This brings diesel prices back to late June levels. Meanwhile, the average price of petrol has decreased by 0.5%, now standing at €1.603 per litre, the lowest since late February.
August travel impact
These fuel price reductions come at a peak travel time, with the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) expecting 3.1 million road trips during the August holidays. Over the past month, petrol prices have dropped by 1.11% and diesel by 1%. Compared to the same period last year, petrol is now 4.58% cheaper and diesel over 5% cheaper.
At the beginning of 2024, fuel prices rose for the first time in three months, after continuous declines since late September 2023. Last year ended with significant drops in fuel costs, with petrol decreasing by nearly 15% and diesel by more than 13%.
Cost savings
Currently, filling a 55-litre petrol tank costs about €88.16, saving €2.63 compared to the previous year. Filling the same size diesel tank costs €81.01, saving €1.59 from last year.
Despite the current reductions, fuel prices are still well below the peaks of July 2022, when petrol reached €2.141 per litre and diesel €2.1 per litre. Diesel prices remain lower than pre-invasion levels of Ukraine by Russia, which were €1.479 per litre. Petrol prices also stay below the pre-invasion level of €1.592 per litre.
Diesel vs petrol price dynamics
For 75 consecutive weeks, diesel prices have been lower than petrol, maintaining the usual pre-invasion trend. The Russian invasion had caused diesel prices to exceed those of petrol from August 2022 until mid-February 2023, but this pattern has since reverted.
European price comparison
In Spain, the price of unleaded 95 petrol remains below the EU average of €1.721 per litre and the eurozone average of €1.760 per litre. Diesel prices in Spain are also lower than the EU average of €1.592 per litre and the eurozone average of €1.614 per litre.
Fuel prices depend on various factors, including specific fuel quotes, crude oil trends, taxes, raw material costs, logistics, and gross margins. Changes in crude oil prices do not immediately reflect in fuel prices due to a temporal lag. As of Thursday’s market opening, Brent crude oil — the European benchmark — fell by 0.32% to $78.08 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) — the U.S. benchmark — rose by 0.17% to $75.1 per barrel.
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