Expats Feel the Pinch as Average Tank of Petrol Rises by More Than €10

UK fuel prices near record high

UK fuel prices near record high. Image: Wikimedia

Expats in Spain are feeling the pinch after it emerged the price of petrol has risen by more than €10 for an average tank since last April.

ACCORDING to new figures, while the price of petrol has stayed steady over the past week, costs have risen by nearly 20 per cent in Spain since the same week last year, leaving the average tank of petrol costing more than €10 more.

Financial website, Investing.com said: “With current prices, filling an average 55 litre tank with gasoline costs €72.44, while for diesel it is €65.12.”

The prices are an increase of 17.38 per cent from the same week last year for petrol, when an average 55 litre tank cost €61.71, and an increase of 14.18 per cent for diesel, when a tank cost €57.03.

The news means drivers are now spending an extra €10.73 for an average tank of petrol.

The figures also showed that in the last month, the price of petrol has gone up by 1.86 per cent, compared to the 0.94 per cent that the price of diesel has increased.

The price hike has hit expats, business owners and tourists alike.

Speaking about the increase in the price of petrol, one expat, Shane Fitzgerald, owner of rental car company Kingdom Cars in Cabo Roig, Costa Blanca, said: “I have definitely noticed the increase in fuel prices and it has put me in a difficult position because I refuse to pass the increase on to customers and that means I am automatically out of pocket.”

Another expat, Tony Dodd from Torrox, Malaga, said: “While we have not noticed much of a difference because we do not drive that much at the moment, I do worry about how prices will affect visitors when they come over to stay with us this summer.”

The increase in petrol prices could see expats paying hundreds more a year depending on how much they travel for leisure and business.

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