MADRID, 18 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The maximum retail price of the butane cylinder will drop by 4.94% starting this Tuesday, September 19, to 14.43 euros, thus placing it at the lowest price recorded in the last year, according to the resolution published this Monday in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
This price for the butane cylinder as of this Tuesday will thus be 26% lower than the maximum price recorded for the last time 12 months ago.
This reduction responds to the fact that the surplus generated in recent months makes it possible to cushion the increase in the price of raw materials (35.7%) and the slight revaluations of the euro against the dollar (1.2%) and in the cost of freight (0.7%) registered during this two-month period, according to sources from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
The maximum sales price of bottled liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) in containers of between 8 and 20 kilograms – the traditional butane cylinder – is not liberalized. Its value is reviewed bimonthly on the third Tuesday of the month, by resolution of the General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines.
This bimonthly review is calculated based on the cost of raw materials (propane and butane) in international markets, as well as the cost of freight (transport) and the evolution of the euro-dollar exchange rate.
The price revision, upward or downward, is limited to 5%, with the excess or defect in price being accumulated for application in subsequent revisions.
Bottled liquefied petroleum gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly composed of butane, that serves as an alternative to natural gas for energy consumption in pressure containers, especially in towns or urban centers without connection to the natural gas network.
Currently, 64.5 million LPG containers of different capacities are consumed annually. It is a fuel in decline, since from 2010 to 2021 the total consumption of bottled LPG has decreased by more than 25%.
Royal Decree-Law 11/2022, of June 25, limited the maximum price of a butane cylinder between 8 and 20 kilograms to 19.55 euros, a measure that Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 extended last June until December 31, 2023.
