The war in Ukraine it has sharpened the rise in the price of petrol and diesel. Europe’s fuel supply is being compromised by the conflict sparked by Vladimir Putinand has skyrocketed the price of fuel, which before the conflict broke out was already escalating and had broken several records.
Gas stations fear that these prices will lead to a fall in consumption. Gas stations believe that it will soon reach 2 euros per liter.
This Wednesday, March 9 average fuel prices have continued this upward trend. The average price of unleaded petrol 98 has been set at 1,957 euros per liter, very close to this barrier of two euros.
These are the average fuel prices in Spain at 7 am this Wednesday:
Unleaded 95 € 1,806 / l Unleaded Lead 98 € 1,957 / l Diesel A € 1,745 / lDiesel A + € 1,840 / lDiesel B € 1,270 / lDiesel C € 1,350 / lBiodiesel € 1,705 / lLiquatous Gas / LPG € 0.916 / l
Gas stations are divided over the effect of this price increase. “Among our partners, sales are between 15% and 20% lower than usual,” Nacho Rabadán, director general of the Confederation of Service Station Entrepreneurs (CEEES), told Efe. Gas stations have gone on to buy more expensive fuel and customers are staying providing less, although they do not transfer the entire price increase to the dispenser. In fact, it claims that its profit margins, if any, remain at 1%.
However, other sources in the sector note an interest of citizens who pay more attention to the price of fuel for fill the tank before it rises even higher.
Thus, the general director of the Moure Group, Manel Montero, assures that in his network of gas stations ‘low cost’ at the moment “is not registering a fall in the consumption of petrol”. In fact, there is an increase in consumption, which is explained by the “attempts of families to fill the tank” before gasoline or diesel became even more expensive.
Record the day the invasion began
The greatest example of this attitude was the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, on February 24, when, according to the National Association of Automatic Service Stations, some of its associated companies broke records. sales in a day. “At the end of February we surpassed the record for supplies, selling more than 1.7 million liters in one day, a figure we had never seen before, so we have strengthened our service in the face of increasing customers to absorb all the demand that comes to us “, a Ballenoil spokesman explains to Efe.
Manuel Santiago, CEO of Petroprix, also considers that “this situation of rising prices has led consumers to look for more affordable alternatives, which is leading to automatic service stations gaining market share.”
VAT reduction
With rising tensions in the Ukraine conflict, service station associations have reactivated their claim to the government for a reduction in VAT on fuels from 21% to 10%, in the same way that he did with electricity. The proposal, which is presented as a possible option to contain inflation and minimize the impact that fuels have on the pockets of households and businesses, has clashed with the idea of the Committee of Experts on Tax Reform, which proposes a rise in gasoline and diesel taxation.
In the event of a tax equalization between the two fuels, the price of diesel would increase by about 11.5 cents, which would result in increases of 6.3 euros when filling the tank. means of a diesel tourism.