Published on
Next week, from 20 to 26 July, fuel prices are set to rise sharply.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
According to the Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP) and in line with forecasts from the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), the price of diesel will increase by 13.5 cents and petrol by 6.5 cents per litre.
This means that next week diesel will cost consumers €1.988 per litre and petrol €1.980 per litre.
The ACP adds that the average figures are based on the “raw material prices at the close of markets last Thursday”, but notes that until Friday there may still be fluctuations in crude and fuel quotations.
The war in the Middle East, involving the US, Israel and Iran, continues to drive prices higher and the government has pledged to apply an extraordinary, temporary reduction in ISP (Tax on Petroleum and Energy Products) whenever there is an increase of more than 10 cents.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of global trade in oil and natural gas passes, was initially closed after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on 28 February, sending prices for oil, fertilisers and other goods soaring far beyond the region and giving Iran significant room for manoeuvre in the negotiations.
This week saw an escalation in the fighting between the two sides, which brought an end to the provisional agreement to halt the war against Iran.
Minister wants tighter checks on fuel retailers
According to the Expresso newspaper, on Thursday the Minister for the Environment and Energy, Maria Graça Carvalho, sent a request to ERSE for an investigation into the fuel prices charged by retailers since 2024.
In the letter, the minister called for “a detailed study of the last two years – within 20 days – to explain why falls in oil prices on international markets take so long to be passed on to prices at the pump”, Expresso reports.
Cutting VAT on fuel has been the subject of intense debate, but the Finance Minister, Miranda Sarmento, insisted during Wednesday’s debate that he will not change the tax rate.
