According to the EU-27 fuel price bulletin, published by the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), regarding simple 95 petrol, between January and March, national average selling prices (PMV) were higher than the average of the 27 countries of the European Union (EU-27), ranking 9th among the countries with the highest prices.

Thus, including taxes, the PMV in Portugal for 95 petrol was set at 1.702 euros per litre, higher than the 1.618 in the EU and the 1.572 registered in Spain.

Without taking into account taxes, Portugal had a PMV of 2.1 cents per litre lower than Spain.

According to ERSE, "Portugal had a higher tax burden (52%) in the context of the Iberian Peninsula, which is why the Portuguese PMV, with taxes, was around 13.0 cent/l higher than that of Spain". The weight of taxes represented 47% of PMV in Spain and 52% of PMV in Portugal and the EU-27.

As regards simple diesel fuel, "the national PMV was below the EU-27 average values, giving Portugal the 14th place for the lowest prices", noted the energy regulator.

In the first quarter, the PMV of diesel in Portugal was 1,610 euros per litre, lower than the 1,611 in the EU, but higher than the 1,520 recorded in Spain.

"The tax burden in Portugal (46%) was higher than in Spain (42%), leading to the PMV practiced in Portugal being 9.0 cent/l higher than in Spain", said ERSE, adding that, "without taxes, the national average price is 1.1 cent/l lower than that of the neighbouring country".

In the EU as a whole, when excluding the weight of taxes, Portugal occupies the 8th position among the countries with the cheapest diesel.

Still in the EU as a whole, the tax-free PMV for diesel decreased by 6.0 cents per litre from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first of 2024.