The slight recovery of the global economy which has seen an increase in the demand for crude oil, together with economic forecasts thanks to Covid vaccines and greater control of the pandemic, have pushed up the price of fuel, not just in Spain, but also in the Canary Islands.
So far this year, between January and May, a litre of petrol has gone up byan average of 15 cents a litre and diesel by 13 cents a litre, which means they are back to pre-pandemic prices very similar to those of May 2019.
The increase has been felt in the pockets of residents in the Canary Islands, who today pay an average of eight euros more to fill a average tank of 55 litres, than thet did in January.
Looking at the different types of fuel, the one that has suffered the most from the price increase is 95 unleaded petrol, with an increase of 18%. Until now a litre cost around 1.02 euros; unleaded 98 is now 17% more expensive at 1.06 euros, and finally a litre of diesel has reached 0.95 euros, 15.5% more than in January.
It should be noted that these prices, which are average for the Canary Islands, vary according to the brands and even the location of the service stations on the islands. The islands of La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, in the western province, have the most expensive fuels due to higher transport costs and less petrl stations on the islands, meaning a lack of competition.
Only in the last year, and according to April's data from the General Directorate of Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands, gasoline 95 has risen on average in the archipelago by almost 7%, with notable variations depending on the island.
The largest rebound was recorded on the island of El Hierro, with a rise of 21.5%, followed by La Gomera, with a rise of 20.2% and La Palma, with almost 18%. With the 95 the increases are similar as with diesel, the regional average increase was 4.4% while in El Hierro the rebound was 16.6%; 15.4% on La Gomera and almost 13% on La Palma. The average price of diesel is 0.95 per litre but in El Hierro it is 1.18 euros, 23 cents a litre more expensive.
