The price of gasoline marks a new annual maximum after adding seven consecutive weeks of increases

The fuels do not give rest to the pocket of the consumer, who sees how the increase in demand for trips in summer pushes prices up: in the last week, both gasoline and diesel became more expensive again and already mark their seventh week on the rise, lengthening what was already the biggest streak of increases so far this year. Since the beginning of the upward streak, at the beginning of July, the price of a liter of gasoline has accumulated an increase of 7.34%, while that of diesel has become more expensive by more than 11%.

According to the latest data from the European Union Oil Bulletin, published this Thursday, the liter of gasoline is paid this week in Spain at an average of 1,710 euros, its annual maximum and a figure that has not been seen on the panels of gas stations since August last year, with a discount of 20 cents of the Government still in force. Without taking into account the bonus, this price has not been given since the end of November. Diesel, for its part, marks 1.602 euros per liter, its highest since the end of February.

Both fuels have become more expensive in the last week, but at different rates: while gasoline has accelerated —its price has risen by 1%, compared to the 0.7% increase of the previous one— diesel has become more expensive, yes, but more slowly: from an increase of more than 2% last week it has risen to 1%. Since the end of last year, gasoline is 9% more expensive, while diesel has become 2.5% cheaper.

Fuels thus continue their upward streak at the gates of the summer return operation, which threatens to extend the trend for at least another week. In the case of gasoline, you have to go back to April, May and June of last year to find a similar streak of rises – then it became more expensive for nine weeks. Diesel, for its part, did not experience a similar escalation since the first quarter of 2022, when the outbreak of the war in Ukraine took the European fuel market to a dimension unknown until then. Compared to mid-February 2022, just before the Russian invasion, the price of gasoline has increased by 7.3%. Diesel oil, for its part, increased by 0.9%.

Of course, although this new rise in prices keeps fuels above the levels they marked before the vertiginous upward spiral triggered by the war in Ukraine, both are far from the maximums they reached in July of last year, when they were paid at more than two euros per liter, without taking into account the general discount of 20 cents that ended at the end of last year.

With these prices, filling an average tank —55 liters— costs, on average, just over 94 euros for a gasoline car and 88.10 for a diesel car. A year ago, with the current discount, both were around 88 euros. Of course, without taking into account the discount, gasoline is 4.4% cheaper, and diesel is 11%. The latter, despite the fear of an upward spiral due to the veto introduced on Russian products, has maintained the rate and remains below gasoline, as it used to until the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Despite this seven-week upward streak, the price of fuel in Spain remains below the European Union average, which stands at 1.81 euros per liter of gasoline and 1.71 for diesel. By country, Malta is the most profitable for drivers’ pockets —at 1.34 euros per liter of gasoline and 1.21 for diesel—, while the Netherlands in gasoline and Sweden in diesel are the most expensive, surpassing both two euros per liter.

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