Price of standard butane gas cylinder in Spain falls to lowest of the year to stand at 14.43 euros

There is good news for those who remain loyal to the butane gas cylinder for cooking or heating requirements in Spain, despite the energy crisis aggravated by the war in Ukraine, forcing prices up in recent times.

However, as of Tuesday (19 September), the uniquitous orange bottles will drop to their lowest price in the past year. The maximum retail price will fall by 4.94% to 14.43 euros, which is 26% less than twelve months ago, according to the resolution published today in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

This reduction comes about because the surplus generated in the last few months has allowed the increase in the price of raw materials (+35.7%) and the performance of the euro against the dollar (+1.2%) and in the cost of freight (+0.7%) recorded during this two-month period to be cushioned, according to sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

The maximum selling price of bottled liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) in containers of between 8 and 20 kilograms -the traditional butane cylinder- is set by the government and it is revised bimonthly on the third Tuesday of the month, by resolution of the Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines.

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

No matter what, the price revision, upwards or downwards, is limited to 5%, with the over- or under-price accumulating for application in subsequent revisions.

Currently, 64.5 million LPG containers of different capacities are consumed each year. This is a declining source of energy, with total consumption falling by more than 25% between 2010 and 2021.

The Royal Decree of 25 June 2022 limited the maximum price of the butane cylinder between 8 and 20 kilograms to 19.55 euros, a measure that the Executive extended last June until 31 December.

The government also approved an improvement in the protection of vulnerable consumers that increased the minimum benefit of the thermal social voucher from 25 to 40 euros - approximately two butane bottles - and a maximum benefit to 375 euros by 2023, depending on the climate zone.