Drivers face the rise in fuel prices during the holiday exodus

Drivers face the first summer getaway with the most expensive fuels than a year ago. Anyone traveling by car in Spain this summer will have to dig slightly deeper into their pockets than a year ago. After almost two months of decreases, fuel prices slightly increased last week, reaching 1.62 euros per liter for gasoline and 1.47 for diesel. These prices are respectively two and three cents higher than at the end of June last year; back then, gasoline averaged less than 1.6 euros at Spanish service stations, and diesel was just over 1.44 euros. In the past week, gasoline prices have increased slightly (0.06%) at the pumps, while diesel has risen by 1.17%. This ends the downward trend that began in early May, according to data published on Thursday in the European Union's Petroleum Bulletin, based on a sample of 11,400 service stations. The increase, although not significant, comes just before the first summer holiday exodus, a period for which the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) projects 94 million road trips, 400,000 more than last year. Of that figure, just under half (45.7 million) will occur in July, with the first special operation starting at 3:00 p.m. this Friday, with expected congestion at the exits of major urban areas. Filling up a medium gasoline tank today (55 liters) implies a cost of almost 89 euros, compared to just under 81 for a diesel car. In the former case, the cumulative increase since January 1 is around 5.3%, while diesel, far from becoming more expensive this year, has decreased by 1.6%. Aside from the gradual electrification that will soon start to impact fuel consumption, gasoline has continued to gain market share in private vehicles in Spain. However, diesel remains the dominant fuel with a share of over 54%. Gasoline follows closely behind, with nearly 40%, according to data from the Anfac business association. In both cases, the prices that motorists face at the pumps today are far from the levels reached in mid-2022 when the Russian invasion of Ukraine drove fuel prices to their historical peak, well above two euros per liter, prompting the government to introduce a universal subsidy of 20 cents per liter. Fuel prices in Spain are also substantially lower than those in most European neighbors, who have higher taxes (as recommended by most international organizations to discourage fossil fuel consumption) and are also forced to import most of what they consume. In contrast, the Iberian Peninsula is one of the European regions with a higher number of refineries. Gasoline currently hovers around 1.79 euros per liter on average at eurozone service stations and 1.74 euros in the Twenty-Seven; 17 and 12 cents more, respectively, than in Spain. The differences are even more pronounced in diesel fuel: it averages 1.64 and 1.62 euros, 17 and 15 cents more, respectively. Taxation plays a significant role in these disparities.