• Energy OPEC+ opts for "voluntary cuts" in crude oil supply in 2024

The average price of petrol has fallen this week to its annual low after standing at 1.572 euros per litre, with which this fuel has already accumulated a decrease of 10.7% since it began a downward spiral at the end of September. Specifically, the average price of a litre of petrol has fallen by 0.82% this week compared to last week, to accumulate its tenth consecutive decrease, according to data from the European Union Oil Bulletin collected by Europa Press.

We would have to go back to the end of last year, when the government's rebate of at least 20 cents per litre for fuel was still in force, to find a cheaper price.

For its part, diesel has chained its ninth consecutive week of decreases, with a drop of 0.96% compared to the previous week, to 1.543 euros the average price per litre. Thus, the price of a litre of diesel has fallen by 8.6% since the beginning of October and falls to levels not seen since the end of July.

This reduction in fuel prices takes place in the middle of the Constitution Bridge, one of the biggest of the year and in which the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) expects almost eight million journeys from last Tuesday until next Sunday.

GASOLINE BELOW PRE-WAR LEVELS IN UKRAINE

With this downward spiral, the price of a litre of petrol remains below the levels it was at before the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine - €1.592 per litre - which began on 24 February 2022. In the case of diesel, it is still above the price of the time - 1.479 euros per litre. In addition, these falls continue to push both fuels further away from the highs recorded in the summer of 2022, in July, when gasoline reached €2.141 and diesel reached €2.1.

THE PETROL TANK, 4.6 EUROS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IN 2022

Despite these decreases, at current prices, filling an average 55-litre tank of petrol is priced at €86.5, about €4.6 more than at the same time in 2022, when it amounted to around €81.8, including the discount of 20 cents per litre in force at the time.

For diesel vehicles, filling an average tank (55 litres) involves an outlay of €84.8, about €1.2 less than in the same period in 2022, when the price was €86 taking into account the discount. Last year, due to the escalation in fuel prices due to the energy crisis caused by the war, the minimum rebate of 20 cents per litre of fuel was in force for all citizens approved by the Government as part of its response plan to the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Likewise, with this, diesel has been below the price of gasoline for 41 weeks in a row. It thus remains in the usual situation prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused the price of diesel to be more expensive than that of petrol continuously from August 2022 until mid-February of this year, when the dynamic was broken.

The price of fuels depends on multiple factors, such as their specific price (independent of that of oil), the evolution of crude oil, taxes, the cost of raw materials and logistics, and gross margins. In addition, the evolution in the price of crude oil is not directly transferred to fuel prices, but does so with a temporary lag.

PRICES IN SPAIN, CHEAPER THAN THE EUROPEAN AVERAGE

At these levels, the price of unleaded 95 petrol in Spain remains below the European Union average, at 1.704 euros per litre, and the euro area average, with an average price of 1.751 euros. In the case of diesel, the price in Spain is also lower than the EU average, which is 1.683 euros, and the Eurozone, where it is 1.708 euros.

  • Petrol