The price of gasoline rises again. This time it happened in the middle of the August bridge, where more than 8.5 million road trips were expected. This has made the departure of Spaniards and tourists who moved around the country more expensive during these days, and gasoline and diesel became more expensive on average by 0.71% and 2.1%, respectively, with which they chained their sixth consecutive rise. As reported in the Oil Bulletin of the European Union (EU), while diesel cost about 1,586 euros.
This advance brings gasoline back to around the records of mid-2022, in the midst of the energy crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the difference that the discount of 20 cents per liter approved by the Government was still in force at that time. . Always applying the aforementioned discount, the average price of this fuel between July 26 and August 1 of last year was 1,702 euros/liter (without the bonus it would have been 1,902 euros/liter), coinciding with the output of that summer. A week later, the liter of gasoline fell to 1.66 euros, discount included (without it, it would be 1.86 euros).
However, it must be taken into account that the comparison made by EFE is made based on the final prices paid by users of service stations in Spain, so that it incorporates the effect of the 20 cent discount in 2022. Without considering this measure and taking only the gross average from the Oil Bulletin, gasoline exceeded the 1,688 euros/liter in the last week (or 1,488 euros with a discount) that it marked between November 29 and December 5, on the lookout for 1.73 euros/liter (or 1.53 euros with a discount), its price between November 22 and 28.
Diesel, for its part, marks its highest value since the 1,571 euros/liter that it reached between March 14 and 20, although compared to just a year ago, it costs 1.25% less. On the contrary, gasoline -now also without bonus- is about 6% more expensive. In relation to the first week of this 2023, in which the effects of the discount were still being felt in the last days of December, gasoline has become more expensive by 22.3% and diesel, by 8.6%. If we look at the data from a month ago, the first fuel is now 5.6% more expensive, and the second, 9.2%.
The prices of both fuels, yes, are far from the historical highs that they reached in June 2022, since gasoline costs 12.8% less and diesel, 16.5% less. At current prices, filling a 55-liter tank with gasoline costs 93.06 euros, while if it is refueled with diesel, the price is 87.23 euros, which represents an increase of 5.2 euros compared to a year ago. and a reduction of 1.1 euros in the second.
The Netherlands and Denmark, the most expensive gasoline in the EU
In the middle of the rise in the price of oil, fuels in Spain were again below the average of the Twenty-seven of the European Union, where the price was around 1,813 euros per liter of gasoline, and 1,716 euros the diesel one. They were even more expensive in the eurozone, where a liter of gasoline was paid on average at 1,874 euros, and diesel, at more than 1,754 euros.
The Netherlands and Denmark were the countries in which gasoline was the most expensive in the last week, at 2,080 and 2,048 euros, respectively, while the price of a liter of diesel was especially high in Sweden, almost 2,054 euros on average, and Belgium. , 1,887 euros. On the opposite side, Malta and Bulgaria registered both the cheapest gasoline, at 1,340 and 1,372 euros, respectively, and the lowest cost diesel, at 1,210 and 1,354 euros.
Oil, escalating
In the latest Bank of America Research report, the global head of raw materials and derivatives, Francisco Blanch, warned that energy supply trends have deteriorated in recent months and have triggered a rebound in prices.
In his opinion, the improvement in global energy demand trends in 2024 could prolong this upward momentum, although it observes certain limits. In any case, he acknowledges that the industry is at a cyclical low point and that maximum rates and a strong dose of Chinese stimulus could push global oil and gas prices higher.
However, Etoro Multi-Asset Global Markets Strategist Ben Laidler Considers That The Oil Rally Could “Self-Correction” By Triggering Fears Of DeMores Dest Decreasing Demand Driven By The Global Macroeconomy, And Supposes That The Rise The prices will also test OPEC’s resolve to cut supply.
