Fuel prices will return to decline starting next Monday: Diesel vehicle drivers are the ones most able to smile, as the relief will be great. This puts an end to the price increases witnessed in recent weeks – five for diesel, two for 95 gasoline – according to data from the General Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG).
A source from one of the main national oil companies told Executive Digest, “The development of prices in euros indicates a price decline of up to 3 cents per liter of diesel and up to 1 cent per liter of 95 gasoline.”
Prices at gas stations next to supermarkets follow the same line. “Next week’s trend will be a decline of €0.0253 in diesel and €0.0059 in gasoline,” another source said.
Since the beginning of the year, the price of a liter of simple diesel has fallen by 1.6 cents, while a liter of simple 95 gasoline has become more expensive by 6.4 cents. This means that filling a 60-litre petrol tank costs €3.84 more than it did in January. It takes 0.96 euros less to fill a diesel tank than in the first week of the year. See the development recorded over the past month below:
Data from the General Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG) show that the average price of a liter of simple gasoline in Portugal currently costs €1,707 while simple diesel fuel costs €1,583. However, prices may vary across gas stations, as the price quoted on the network also takes into account the level of competition, supply and demand in each market and the level of fixed costs at each station.
In the latest bulletin issued by the European Commission, Portugal ranks as the eighth most expensive 95 gasoline in the EU, 6.2 cents higher than the European average, but 21.2 cents more expensive than neighboring Spain. In the case of diesel, only seven countries have higher prices at the European level.
Among the EU countries, Denmark has the most expensive 95 gasoline on the Old Continent: 1,954 euros. Finland “prevails” in diesel: 1,731 euros.
The government admits it will continue to unfreeze the carbon tax
The Minister of Environment and Energy, María da Graça Carvalho, admitted on Friday that the carbon tax aims to continue the thaw, unless there is a worsening of the conflict in the Middle East or another unforeseen geopolitical event: therefore, the motivations and the Portuguese people can count on Successive price increases, including next year, through taxes.
“The previous government started to dissolve the carbon tax, and now it has been dissolved even more. As long as there is no crisis, it will continue to be dissolved,” he stressed, without revealing the fuel values necessary to consider it a crisis. He pointed out that “there is a value at which the government can stop raising the price.” “There are conditions to define what an energy emergency is and from there the government has discretion. Under normal circumstances, we would allow the market to work and would have incentives to decarbonise.
He added: “In the case of fuel prices, it depends on geopolitical conditions. He concluded by saying: “At the moment we do not have an energy crisis, and without a crisis, we have a carbon tax, which is a law that discourages the consumption of fossil fuels.”
The cheapest gas stations in the country
Despite the government's desire to continue raising the carbon tax, there are still gas stations where you can save a lot of euros when you top up your deposit. Find out the cheapest gas stations in the country, for diesel and 95 petrol, according to DGEG data.
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