Price hike alert: Spain’s butane cylinder costs set to surge 4.91%

According to Spain’s Consumers in Action, the maximum retail price of a butane cylinder will increase by 4.91 per cent starting Tuesday, March 19, reaching €16.67.

This marks the third consecutive price increase following six consecutive bi-monthly declines.

The bi-monthly price review is determined by the costs of raw materials (propane and butane) in international markets, along with freight costs and the euro-dollar exchange rate.

This price adjustment, whether upward or downward, is capped at 5 per cent, with any excess or deficit accumulated for subsequent revisions.

The recent price hike is primarily attributed to a significant rise in raw material costs (+4.88 per cent), partially offset by a slight depreciation of the euro against the dollar (-0.05 per cent) over the past two months.

However, this increase was mitigated by a substantial reduction in freight costs (-47 per cent).

The maximum retail price of bottled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in containers ranging from 8 to 20 kilogrammes, including traditional butane cylinders, is regulated and reviewed bi-monthly on the third Tuesday of each month by Resolution of the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines.

Royal Decree-Law 11/2022, implemented on June 25, set the maximum price of a butane cylinder between 8 and 20 kilograms at €19.55, a measure extended by Royal Decree-Law 8/2023 until June 30, 2024.

This maximum price was last reached in the September 19, 2022 review.

Historically, during the Zapatero administration, the highest price for butane was €15.19, maintained from October 1, 2011, until March 31, 2012.

In contrast, the lowest price recorded in the last twenty years was €9.38 in April 2005.