Price of fuel in the Balearics has risen 35% over the past ten years

Fuel costs more in the Balearics than elsewhere in Spain. | Pere Bota

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma20/01/2020 12:01

According to data from the national ministry of ecological transition, the price of fuel in the Balearics is up to 35% higher than it was ten years ago. In 2009, the average for diesel was 0.908 euros per litre. By last year it was 1.227 euros per litre; 35% more. For petrol, the price went up from one euro in 2009 to 1.355 euros last year.

These prices are the highest in the country. Jesús Salas, president of the federation of service stations in the Balearics, attributes this solely to the costs of insularity. He notes that the so-called "health cent" doesn't influence the price difference between the Balearics and other parts of Spain any longer as it is now the same all over the country. The health cent is a tax on fuel that was introduced in the Balearics by the Bauzá Partido Popular administration of 2011 to 2015.

Salas adds that there is little margin for adjusting prices, which are clearly governed by oil prices and the effects of international tension. The price of a barrel of Brent Crude Oil is currently at just over 65 dollars. Businesses therefore have their hands tied, says Salas. Nevertheless, there is a certain stability in the final price being paid by consumers at present, but Salas believes that significant increases are to come. The Spanish government intends increasing taxes on hydrocarbons, which are the second lowest in the European Union at the moment.