Christmas boon for petrolheads

By James Bryce

PETROL is at its cheapest price against diesel for the first time ever, the Olive Press can reveal.

It is also the first time the price per litre has topped its petrol equivalent in Spain since 2009.

But the difference of up to five cents a litre is also the biggest ever seen in history, revealed two garage owners.

“We have never seen the difference so big,” explained the manager of the Repsol garage in Gaucin.

“It is all about raising taxes as most drivers are now using diesel.”

In the last month a litre of petrol has actually fallen by 1.45 per cent, while diesel has gone up by 2.4 per cent.

Over the last year, petrol has gone up just 7.29 per cent, while diesel has gone up by 17.09 per cent.

The increase – brought in to raise money through taxes – comes as a big blow to the owners of the 77 per cent of cars registered in Spain which run on diesel.

It follows a European Commission hearing in April that demanded Spain should increase the minimum tax on diesel due to it being a worse pollutant than petrol.

The ruling will mean Spain must raise the price of diesel by eight cents per litre between now and 2018, with the transport industry subject to an 11 cent rise.

However, despite the increased cost of diesel, fuel prices in Spain remain below average in the European Union.