Anybody who’s put some petrol or diesel into their tank doesn’t need to be told that the price has gone up again, but did you know that the provinces of Granada and Huelva have the highest pump prices in Andalucía?

The average price of a litre of 95 Octane is 1.52 euros yet the price of a barrel of Brent continues to fall due to a lack of demand by 2USD and stood at 116 dollars a barrel at the time of writing this article. Diesel is only a little cheaper, standing at 1.44 euros per litre.

So why is it that the prices, which have been going up all year, went up a further 2.8% at the beginning of the third week of August, which by a quirk of coincidence coincides with the exodus from cities heading for the coast and the simultaneous return of those that have just finished their holidays; i.e., millions of extra cars using the roads to carry out long, fuel-consuming journeys. Somebody is evidently taking the piss – we would put it more elegantly, but there is nothing ‘elegant’ about this little scam.

Who’s in on it – the big petrol companies? Don’t forget that every time the price of fuel goes up, the cut that the Government takes in taxes increases too, so let’s not leave them out of the equation.

So, bearing this in mind, a recent report made by the Asociación Provincial de Estaciones de Servicios came to the conclusion that the prime reason for this illogical and constant rise in prices at the pumps is due to a lack of real competition between the few and far between petroleum companies in Spain that refine and distribute the product. Repsol, Shell, BP, Galp or Cepsa are the ones that decide on the price.

Hell, you say, you should see the prices in other European countries, and you would be right, because Spain still has the cheapest pump prices amongst our neighbours, but, Ladies and Gentlemen, those countries don’t have Spanish-level salaries.

(News: Granda, Andalucia)