Gasoline prices rise for the third consecutive week and reach their highest levels since March

The price of fuel continues to rise and has now accumulated three weeks of chained increases, in which it has accumulated an increase of 3.4%. This is clear from the data from the EU Oil Bulletin, which the European Commission published this Thursday. The increase in refueling costs that has been experienced in recent days has taken diesel prices to their highest levels since March and gasoline prices to reach a level not seen since the beginning of August.

According to Europa Press, the average price of a liter of diesel has climbed to 1,443 euros after rising 1.26%. In the last three weeks, this fuel has become more expensive by 3.44%. Instead, the gasoline registers a more moderate rise and becomes more expensive by 0.54% compared to last week until reaching the 1,485 euros per liter.

If these amounts are translated to an average tank of 55 liters, the price of refueling now amounts to 79.36 euros in the case of diesel. While in the case of the super 95 the cost is somewhat higher, 81.67 euros per full deposit.

Despite the increases seen in recent weeks, fuel prices remain at levels very similar to those seen at this time last year. Thus, filling a full tank of gasoline costs 1.1 euros less than 365 days ago, while diesel costs just 2.03 euros.

With these levels, The price of 95 unleaded gasoline in Spain remains below the European Union averagelocated at 1,645 euros per liter, and from the eurozone, with an average price of 1,691 euros, reports Europa Press. In the case of diesel, the price in Spain is also lower than the EU average, which is 1,581 euros, and the euro zone, where the price is 1,604 euros.

Below previous levels

The average price per liter of diesell still remains below the levels it was at before the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, when it was 1,479 euros per liter. Gasoline, meanwhile, also remains below the price of 1,591 euros per liter that it had at that time. Furthermore, both fuels remain far from the highs recorded in the summer of 2022, in July, when gasoline reached 2,141 euros and diesel 2.1 euros.

Diesel has now been below the price of gasoline for 142 weeks. 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 gasoline continuously from August 2022 until mid-February 2023, when the dynamic was broken.

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