Lisbon announced Friday it will prolong a measure to lower taxes on gasoline and diesel in an effort to curb price increases at the pump stemming from the situation in the Middle East. The move comes as governments across Europe grapple with the potential economic fallout from escalating geopolitical tensions.
“Given the evolution of fuel prices, the government will apply a modern temporary reduction” representing “a real saving of 1.8 cents per liter for diesel and 3.3 cents per liter for gasoline” starting Monday, the Ministry of Finance stated in a press release.
Without the tax reduction, the Ministry of Finance indicated that fuel prices would have increased by 9.8 cents per liter for diesel and 10.5 cents per liter for gasoline on Monday.
The Portuguese government previously implemented a similar mechanism last week, adjusting fuel taxes when price increases exceed 10 cents per liter compared to the previous week’s average. Until now, this adjustment had only applied to diesel.
Portugal first utilized this type of measure in 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
