If you need to attest, go to the bomb today: Fuels are rising tomorrow

Sand you need to attest, it's better to go to the bomb today, since fuel prices are rising from the beginning of next week. The price per litre of diesel should rise 6,5 cent and gasoline 5 centaccording to forecasts released on friday. 

Based on the current figures of the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), for Thursday, and taking into account the forecasts, the average price of simple diesel should reach 2,222 euros per litre, while that of simple petrol 95 should reach 2,073 euros per litre.

Fuel prices continue to be impacted by the war in Iran, geopolitical tension in the Middle East and the consequent closure of the Ormuz Strait, through which 20% of the oil and natural gas trade passes, as well as the attacks on refineries in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Support will remain “some time”

The Minister of Finance admitted that fuel support will remain “some time”, referring an assessment to the evolution of the war in the Middle East, defending income support rather than energy VAT.

“ This support is for some time. When [the war] is over, we will assess the situation at the time in terms of price and conflict”, said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, in statements to the Lusa agency at the entry for the informal meeting of the euro area finance ministers in Dublin by the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

The person responsible indicated: “The discount, when the Iran war began, gasoline was appreciably 1.64/1.65 cents and we always said that while it is 10 cents above this value, therefore around 1.75, we will make this automatic discount of ISP [Tax on Oil and Energy Products].”.

In addition, “Last day [Thursday] we decided to repeat the support for freight transport companies, IPSS, firefighters and other sectors and we decided last week to repeat support for agricultural oil gas”, he listed.

This concerns the extension, by the end of the year, of the ISP reduction mechanism on fuels and a range of extraordinary support to sectors most affected by the rise in prices, including freight and passenger transport, taxis, firefighters and the social sector.

The Government also decided to extend support for agricultural diesel until the end of the year.

Already asked about the appeals of the PS, to reduce energy VAT to 6% including fuels, electricity and gas, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento stressed: “We prefer to return income to people, through the IRS and pensioners, rather than subsidizing the consumption of a single good.”.

The statement comes after the government announced on Thursday also a further reduction in the IRS and an extraordinary supplement for pensioners, in an overall package of EUR 800 million.

The measures are part of the response to the increased cost of living associated with rising fuels.

In particular, on Thursday, the Council of Ministers adopted a proposal for a law to lower the IRS rates from 1st to 6th step, which will fall between 0.3 and 0.5 points.

Also on Thursday, the Government approved, in the Council of Ministers, the extraordinary supplement that will be awarded to pensioners who receive up to EUR 1,611,39, in support ranging from EUR 100 to 200 and will be paid in December.

In addition, fuel support was extended, such as the discount on the ISP.

In view of all the support now announced, the government’s intervention “returns EUR 2,300 million to taxpayers,” Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said on Thursday.