The Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, stated on Friday that the government of Luís Montenegro is “monitoring the situation” concerning the rise in oil prices due to the Middle East conflict and will take measures to mitigate the prices of diesel and gasoline “if necessary.”
“Naturally, we are monitoring the situation. In the last 10 days, oil prices have risen, which is, of course, reflected in gasoline and diesel prices. However, oil prices are currently around 72 or 73 dollars a barrel; this is far from the prices we saw, for example, in 2022,” he explained to journalists on the sidelines of the ECOFIN meeting – the European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Luxembourg.
He further indicated that “gasoline and diesel themselves are far from the prices seen in 2022, which led to a series of energy sector support measures across Europe to reduce energy prices.”
“We will continue to monitor, watch how the Middle Eastern conflict develops, and hopefully it will be resolved as quickly as possible. Depending on the future evolution of oil prices, we may act accordingly,” he assured.
Nonetheless, Miranda Sarmento recalled that “a few months ago, at the end of last year or the beginning of this year, there was also a geopolitical-triggered rise in oil prices for several weeks, which impacted gasoline and diesel prices.” At that time, he also told journalists that “it is necessary to remain calm and wait to see how events unfold.”
“After a few weeks, oil prices fell, and fuel prices followed. Therefore, we will monitor what happens in the coming weeks, see how the raw material prices evolve, what developments occur in the conflict, and then evaluate the situation and act if necessary,” he said.
It is noteworthy that on Thursday, the price of Brent crude for August delivery ended on the London futures market higher, rising 2.80% to 78.85 dollars, representing an increase of 2.15 dollars from the previous day.
This increase in North Sea crude comes as the Middle Eastern conflict intensifies, following a week of drone and ballistic missile attacks between Israel and Iran.
This trend will impact Portuguese consumers’ budgets starting Monday, as forecasts from the Automóvel Club de Portugal indicate an eight-cent increase per liter for diesel and a three-cent rise per liter for gasoline, meaning that the average price of simple diesel should be 1.616 €/l, while simple gasoline 95 should be around 1.722 €/l.
