Maximum Price Of Standard Butane Gas Cylinders In Spain Drops To Lowest Level Of 2023

THE maximum retail price of a standard butane cylinder in Spain will drop by 4.94 per cent this week.

According to the resolution published this Monday, September 18, in the Official State Gazette (BOE), starting from tomorrow, Tuesday 19, the bottles will sell for no more than €14.43.

As a result, they will fall to the lowest price so far this year. This new price will be 26 per cent lower than in the same period in 2022.

Sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge explained that the drop in price responded to the surplus generated in the last few months.

This allowed for cushioning of the 35.7 per cent increase in the price of raw materials and the slight revaluations of the euro against the dollar by 1.2 per cent, plus the 0.7 per cent rise in the cost of freight is detailed.

The prices are reviewed on a bimonthly basis

The maximum sales price of bottled liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) in containers of between 8 and 20 kilograms – the traditional butane cylinder – is not deregulated in Spain.

Its value is reviewed bimonthly on the third Tuesday of each month, by resolution of the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines.

This bimonthly review is calculated based on the cost of raw materials (propane and butane) in the international markets, as well as the cost of freight and the evolution of the euro-dollar exchange rate.

Any price revision, either upward or downward, is limited to 5 per cent, with the excess or defect in price being accumulated for application in subsequent revisions.

Bottled liquefied petroleum gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly composed of butane. It serves as an alternative to natural gas for energy consumption in pressure containers, especially in towns or urban centres that have no connection to the natural gas network.

Currently, 64.5 million LPG containers of different capacities are consumed annually in Spain. It is a fuel in decline, since from 2010 to 2021 the total consumption of bottled LPG has decreased by more than 25 per cent.

Royal Decree-Law 11/2022, of June 25, limited the maximum price of a butane cylinder between 8 and 20 kilograms to €19.55, a measure that Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 extended until December 31, 2023, as reported by 20minutos.es.