Banco Sabadell | In an interview with TVE yesterday, the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, stated that the government will be monitoring fuel prices due to the potential impact of rising oil and gas prices in light of the conflict in the Persian Gulf, as price increases are passed on very quickly and decreases very slowly. Carlos Cuerpo referred to the war in Ukraine, saying that they would be prepared to know what to do if necessary.
Assessment: Negative news, although with limited impact. We recall that, in March 2022, a decree was passed agreeing to a 20-cent-per-litre reduction in fuel prices until June, equivalent to €600 million, of which 15 cents would be financed by the State and 5 cents by the four main oil companies (only about €150 million in total). All of them took advantage of the situation to increase discounts and retain customers, which was subsequently reported to the CNMC (National Commission for Markets and Competition), which imposed a fine of €20.5 million on Repsol.
