Petrol and diesel fall in October but remain dearer than in 2025

Fuel prices are heading into the Todos los Santos long weekend after four consecutive weeks of falls. Petrol stands at €1.75 a litre, 10% less than at the start of October, and diesel at €1.88. The relief is real but short-lived: according to the EU Oil Bulletin, filling a 50-litre tank now costs €87.50 for petrol and €94 for diesel, against €81.51 and €77.60 a year ago.

What happened

October's fall does not erase the past year's rise. Diesel inflation reached 34% year on year in September and petrol 27.5%, according to INE. Those components pushed transport to 10.5% and lifted headline CPI by six tenths to 4.9%, its highest level since February 2023. Core inflation stood at 3.1%.

The government is therefore keeping the 20-cent-per-litre rebate in November. The mechanism keeps it at its maximum while annual fuel inflation exceeds 15%; with diesel at 34% and petrol at 27.5%, that condition is met. Electricity does not qualify: its annual rate was 11.4%, so there will be no VAT or electricity-tax cuts, according to the economy ministry.

Without the aid, the Spanish Confederation of Service Station Employers estimates petrol would cost €1.99 a litre and diesel €2.14, above the two-euro mark. With it, both remain below that line but dearer than in 2025: about €6 more per tank for petrol and €16.40 more for diesel. The DGT expects 5.3 million long-distance journeys this weekend.

The energy backdrop still dominates. The war in Iran keeps pressure on crude and wholesale electricity is hitting annual highs: €244.69 per megawatt-hour on Friday 30, according to OMIE. The harmonised HICP rate has doubled since February, from 2.5% to 5% in September, 1.2 points above the EU average.

The map: the starting point, not today's figure

The map brings together annual inflation for 187 countries and territories using the latest World Bank data, updated in October 2026. It is not a snapshot of September: for Spain, the value shown is 2.67% for 2025. It sets the starting point and compares Spain's position with its neighbours; it does not read today's 4.9%.

At the end of 2025, Spain (2.67%) was above France (0.94%), Italy (1.53%), Germany (2.17%), Portugal (2.34%) and Belgium (2.47%), and below the United Kingdom (3.88%). The euro-area average is not a separate feature; comparisons have to be country by country. The jump to 4.9% is above all a recent, energy-driven phenomenon.

The map also orders the rest of the world. Venezuela holds the highest figure, 254.95% in 2016; Argentina recorded 219.88% in 2024 and Turkey 34.88% in 2025. China stood at 0.06%. These figures are not comparable without checking the year: the map uses each country's latest available data.

What comes next

INE publishes the October flash CPI estimate this Friday, the first pointer to whether the 4.9% rate has peaked. The final figure is due on 13 November. The 20-cent subsidy will stay in November; the decree cuts it to 13 cents in the first month fuel inflation falls below 15% and to six cents the following month.

The Todos los Santos traffic operation starts at 15:00 on Friday and runs until midnight on Sunday 1 in most regions, and until Monday 2 in eight autonomous communities. The DGT expects 5.3 million long-distance journeys. With fuel inflation still at 27.5% for petrol and 34% for diesel, the long weekend will also test household budgets.

The underlying question is not whether fuel falls for a week, but how long it takes to return to 2025 prices. The map shows that Spanish inflation was already moderate before the energy shock; today's 4.9% is the exception.