Fuel consumption in Portugal grew by 14.8% in August, compared to the same period in the previous year, which corresponds to an additional 97.6 kilotonnes, as a result of the "very significant increase" in jet, aviation fuel, which increased by 58, 8% compared to August 2021.

Petrol and diesel spending also grew, 9.3% and 7.3% respectively, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) alone fell by 5.5%. Average prices fell compared to the previous month, with Castelo Branco, Braga and Santarém being the districts with the lowest prices, according to a report by Dinheiro Vivo.

The data are from the Fuel and LPG Market Bulletin of the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) and show that, in August, the total consumption of oil-derived fuels reached 755 kilotons (kton), which is already "identical to the homologous period before -2019 pandemic" (-0.6 kton). Gasoline and jet consumption grew 1% compared to August 2019 and diesel consumption rose 0.4%. LPG decreased by 14.6%.

Low cost options

Supermarkets continue to present the most competitive offers. In the case of petrol, the supermarket stations had an average price per litre of 1,792 euros, 0.6% lower than low-cost operators and 5.4% lower than petrol stations operating under the banner of an oil company, representing a difference of 10.2 cents per litre.

For diesel, the average price of supermarkets was 1.767 euros per litre, 8.8 cents below the national average. Low-cost stations had an average price of 1,780 euros, 0.7% more than that charged by supermarkets and flagship oil companies reported average prices of 1,878 euros per litre, 11 cents more expensive than supermarket stations.

At a regional level, Faro, Bragança and Beja were the districts with the highest prices, with differences of up to 1% more than the national average, with Castelo Branco, Braga and Santarém having the cheapest fuels, in mainland Portugal, with differences ranging from 1.1% to 0.3% less.