If you are about to run out of supply and have to buy a gas cylinder to face this second half of February, you should know that the price is higher than in previous weeks. Heating your home or cooking these days with butane gas will be more expensive. Although the price is still limited by law, it has suffered a price increase since Tuesday, January 16, compared to recent months and that will continue in the coming weeks. Therefore, if you have to buy a cylinder in February, you will pay more than the first days of January. While inflation hits Europe and prices have skyrocketed in electricity, tobacco, shopping baskets or gasoline, butane cylinders have maintained their prices due to the limitation established by law, a circumstance that will continue in 2024. This It is the price set for a vessel if you have to purchase one these days in January or February 2024.
The Government of Spain limited its price through Royal Decree-Law 11/2022 of June 25, limiting the maximum price of the butane cylinder between 8 and 20 kilograms to 19.55 euros, a measure that Royal Decree-Law 5 /2023 was extended last June until December 31, 2023. In this sense, the price of a butane cylinder stands at 15.89 euros, which represents a new increase compared to previous months.
In the package of anti-crisis measures approved in the last Council of Ministers in 2023, the Government has limited the maximum price of the butane cylinder to 19.55 euros for next year.
How is the price of a butane cylinder calculated?
The price of the butane cylinder is calculated based on the cost of the raw materials (propane and butane) in the international market. However, it is not the only thing that intervenes. Other variables also come into play, such as the cost of freight (transportation) and the evolution of the euro-dollar exchange rate.
To the resulting figure, we must add VAT (21%) and the Special Tax on Hydrocarbons (IEH), which is 1.5 euros for each kilo. The price began to rise after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so the Government set a limit of 5% in the review. In this way, the butane cylinder cannot rise or fall more than the percentage established by law.
What about liquefied gas?
Bottled liquefied petroleum gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly butane compounds, that serves as an alternative to natural gas for energy consumption in pressure containers, especially in towns or urban centers without connection to the natural gas network.
Currently, 64.5 million LPG containers of different capacities are consumed annually. It is a fuel in decline, since from 2010 to 2021 the total consumption of LPG bottles has decreased by more than 25%.
