If you need to refuel, it might be best to visit the pump this Sunday, as fuel prices are set to increase. Starting Monday, both diesel and gasoline prices are expected to rise.
The increases will be 0.5 cents for both cases, according to the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP), citing industry sources on Friday.
“The coming week will again bring changes in fuel prices, with forecasts indicating a rise in the prices of diesel and gasoline. According to industry sources, both diesel and gasoline prices should rise by 0.5 cents,” the ACP’s website states.
This comes at a time when, according to the Direção Geral de Energia e Geologia (DGEG), the “average price of a liter of diesel in Portugal this Friday (August 22) was 1.537 euros, while the average price of a liter of gasoline was 1.691 euros.”
“If the forecasts for next week are confirmed, the average price of diesel will rise to 1.542 euros per liter (€/l). Meanwhile, the average price of simple 95 gasoline will advance to 1.696 €/l,” it reads.
These forecasts, ACP adds, “are based on the assumption that extraordinary tax reduction measures implemented by the government to mitigate price increases will continue. The measures in force include the reduction of the Tax on Petroleum Products (ISP) and the compensation of additional VAT revenue.”
How is oil performing in international markets?
The price of Brent crude for October delivery ended Thursday on the London futures market up 1.24%, at $67.67, rising for the second consecutive day.
North Sea crude, a benchmark in Europe, closed the session on the Intercontinental Exchange at $0.83 above the $66.84 at which it closed on Wednesday.
Brent oil reacted positively for the second consecutive session due to perceptions of market stagnation in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and the latest data on U.S. crude reserves, suggesting that oil demand remains strong despite geopolitical and trade volatility.
According to Forex market analyst Julián Pineda, the diplomatic stalemate in peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, despite European Union and United States efforts, “increases the risk of Western countries imposing additional sanctions, further restricting Russian oil flows as a leverage measure.”
The market is confident that a negotiated agreement to end the conflict is imminent, alongside relief or suspension of sanctions on Russian crude.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he is negotiating a future bilateral meeting between Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, to reach a peace agreement on Ukraine, although some controversial points still need resolution, such as possible land swaps between the two nations or future security guarantees for Kyiv.
