Petrol in Portugal 17 cents dearer than EU average in Q4

The average sale price of 95 octane petrol in Portugal in the fourth quarter of 2021 was about 17 cents per litre (cent/l) higher than the average price in the European Union (EU), ERSE said on Monday.

“In the fourth quarter of 2021, Portugal showed an average sales price and an average price before tax higher than the average values seen in the EU-27, in the order of 17 cent/l and two cent/l, respectively,” the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) said in the Bulletin EU-27 Fuel Prices for October, November and December 2021.

In that quarter, Portugal was in the eighth position of the countries that sold the most expensive 95 simple petrol in the EU, with a price difference of 51 cents/l compared to the country with the lowest prices (Bulgaria) and 27 cents/l compared to the country with the highest prices (the Netherlands).

In Spain, the average sale price was around 21 cents/litre lower than the average price in Portugal.

However, according to ERSE, without the tax effect, the average price of petrol on the domestic market was around 3 cents/litre lower than in Spain.

In the quarter in question, Portugal had a tax burden on the average sale price of petrol of around 57%, a figure higher than the average in the EU (53%), Spain (49%), Germany (54%) and Belgium (55%).

“The tax burden applied in both countries explained the practice of average sale prices of this fuel on the domestic market higher than the average prices in Spain,” explained the energy regulator.

Concerning simple diesel, in that period, Portugal had average prices with taxes seven cent/l higher than the EU average and 2 cent/l lower without taxes.

Portugal was in the tenth position among the countries that sold more expensive diesel in the EU, with a difference of 32 cents/l compared to the country with the lowest prices (Bulgaria) and 35 cents/l compared to the country with the highest prices (Sweden).

Spain had an average price before tax that was around 16 cents/litre lower than the average price in Portugal. However, disregarding the tax effect, the national average cost of this fuel was below the values reported in Spain, with a difference of around 1.3 cents/litre.

The average price of simple diesel in Portugal carried a tax burden of around 52%, in the quarter under review, which is higher than the average recorded in the EU-27 (48%), Spain (45%), Greece (48%), Germany (47%) and the Netherlands (50%).

Finally, in the case of liquefied petroleum gas for cars (LPG Auto), Portugal also had an average sales price higher than the average value recorded in the EU, by four cent/l, but recorded an average price before tax lower by five cent/l. This was the lowest value of the eight countries analysed in greater detail by ERSE.

LPG Auto is the road fuel with the lowest tax burden, both in the EU (31%) and in Portugal (around 39%) in the 4th quarter).

“Unlike the other fuels analysed, the national PMV [average selling price] of LPG Auto, with and without tax, was always lower than the values practised in Spain, with differences of two cent/l and 16 cent/l, concerning the prices with and without tax, respectively,” the regulator concluded.

The average sale prices shown are determined quarterly by ERSE, based on the consumer sale prices reported in the European Commission bulletin that presents the weekly consumer sale prices for plain 95 petrol, plain diesel and LPG Auto in the 27 EU countries, with the price reporting being carried out by the respective competent national authorities.