The price of gasoline today, Wednesday 11 November: gasoline 95 falls to 1,654 euros and diesel, to 1,856

Gasoline and diesel prices in Spain are set in a liberalized market: companies set their prices and there is no ordinary state maximum price for automotive fuels. MITECO does not decide how much each liter costs, but regulates the energy framework, requires information, and helps supervise the market, in coordination with the CNMC.

What determines the pump price?

• Oil and refined products. The international crude price influences it, but also the specific quotation of gasoline and diesel. Both products can evolve differently due to changes in supply, demand, or refinery availability.
• Exchange rate. Since much of the oil trade is conducted in dollars, the euro-dollar relationship modifies the acquisition cost for Spanish companies.
• Supply costs. Refining, transportation, storage, and distribution add costs. Environmental obligations and the incorporation of biofuels also influence.
• Commercial activity and competition. Operating costs of each station, wholesale and retail margins, nearby competition, and promotions explain differences between gas stations. The gross margin does not entirely equate to profit: it must also cover operating costs.
• Demand and international context. Seasonal travel, supply interruptions, and international conflicts can alter quotations and logistical costs.

Therefore, a drop in oil prices does not imply an immediate or proportional reduction in the final price. As Demócrata explains, the transmission has some delay and also depends on other components.

The role of taxes

The two main fiscal components are the Special Hydrocarbons Tax and the VAT. The first essentially taxes a quantity of fuel: it does not automatically increase because oil prices rise. VAT is calculated on the amount that already includes the special tax, so it also taxes that part of the price.

There are territorial particularities and temporary reductions may be approved. These fiscal measures do not equate to setting a maximum price: they reduce the tax burden, but the commercial price continues to vary. The European Commission allows price comparisons before and after taxes through its weekly oil bulletin.

How does MITECO intervene?

Its intervention combines regulation, transparency, and supply security. It develops the energy framework for hydrocarbons, participates in quality and sustainability requirements, and establishes price communication obligations. The information submitted by operators allows monitoring market evolution and facilitating comparisons for consumers, according to the ministerial information system.

It also proposes extraordinary measures together with other departments. For example, on June 16, 2026, at the request of MITECO and Economy, the obligation for wholesalers with refining capacity in Spain to weekly report their acquisition costs and sales prices to service stations to the CNMC was extended until December 31, according to the ministry's communication.

MITECO and CNMC: different functions

The CNMC analyzes prices, margins, and competition conditions, and investigates possible anti-competitive practices. Its June 2026 report recommended maintaining margin analysis and strengthening information and commercial transparency.

In short, companies set the price; taxes and regulatory obligations influence it; MITECO establishes and applies the energy framework, and CNMC monitors competition. None ordinarily approves the daily price of each gas station.

MITECO does have competencies for supervising the fuel market, including economic and price monitoring, but it does not ordinarily set the price of gasoline or diesel. This ministerial function must be distinguished from the competition oversight exercised by the CNMC and from price setting in certain regulated supplies, such as some liquefied petroleum gases.

1. What the regulations expressly assign to the Ministry

Article 2 of Royal Decree 503/2024, which develops MITECO's structure, assigns several directly relevant functions to the Secretary of State for Energy:

• Economic monitoring: section 1.m includes analysis and economic and financial monitoring of energy and liquid hydrocarbon markets.
• Sector supervision: section 1.n expressly assigns "supervision of the liquid hydrocarbon market."
• Price analysis: section 1.q includes analysis of consumption and energy price series by sectors and products, indicators, and energy statistics.
• Regulation and administrative intervention: sections 1.c, 1.d, and 1.o contemplate regulatory proposals, proposals on regulation and, when legally applicable, price approval, as well as control, inspection, and sanction in matters of state competence.

These attributions are exercised expressly without prejudice to the competencies of the energy regulator. Therefore, it would not be correct to state that MITECO lacks supervisory competencies nor that all price oversight corresponds exclusively to the CNMC.

2. Supervising does not mean setting the price

The main limit is in article 38 of the Law 34/1998, on the hydrocarbon sector: "Prices of petroleum-derived products shall be free." For gasoline and diesel, the Ministry does not authorize each price, does not ordinarily approve station margins, nor can it order a price reduction merely because it considers the amount high.

Its function consists of observing market evolution, preparing analyses, proposing regulation, and adopting actions allowed by legislation. Price dissemination through the Hydrocarbons Geoportal also facilitates comparison between stations: it publishes amounts reported by operators but does not convert them into administratively approved prices.

3. How work is divided with the CNMC

The CNMC supervises the petroleum market, analyzes prices and margins, and investigates possible anti-competitive agreements or abuses. It can request information and open sanctioning actions within its competencies. A price increase alone does not prove an infringement.

MITECO uses these analyses for energy policy and regulatory proposals. There is also institutional information exchange: the agreement announced on March 11, 2026 strengthened daily flows between CNMC, Ecological Transition, and Economy.

4. Specific measures and regulated fuels

Royal Decree-law 7/2026 strengthened information on costs and prices sent to the CNMC. At the proposal of MITECO and Economy, the weekly communication of acquisition costs and sales prices to stations by wholesalers with refining capacity in Spain was extended until December 31, 2026, through the agreement published in June.

Finally, there are indeed competencies for regulated prices for certain bottled and piped LPGs, according to Order IET/389/2015, modified by Order TED/211/2025. This exception does not automatically extend to automotive fuels: ministerial supervision, competition defense, and price setting are distinct powers.

Service stations must report their prices through the administrative fuel information system, whose legal reference is article 5 of Royal Decree-law 6/2000. However, the consulted sources do not allow specifying the operational requirements — deadlines, format, and authentication — of that communication; therefore, it is advisable to separate the general obligation to inform from the specific sending conditions that have not been verified.

1. Regulations to consider

Royal Decree-law 6/2000, of June 23, on Urgent Measures to Intensify Competition in Goods and Services Markets, constitutes the reference for the price information system. Subsequent legislation expressly refers to its article 5 so that citizens can consult station data.

The Order ITC/1201/2006, of April 19, whose annexes were modified by the Resolution of September 6, 2006, from the Directorate General of Energy Policy and Mines, must also be examined. That modification has been located, but not the complete content of the submission instructions. It would not be rigorous to attribute a specific periodicity or electronic procedure here.

2. Information contemplated by the system

Law 53/2002, of December 30, on Fiscal, Administrative, and Social Order Measures, amended article 7 of Royal Decree-law 15/1999. Its text establishes that the system must allow users to access information about:

• The location of the facilities.
• The type of fuel offered.
• Its price.
• The brand of the fuels.

The provision expressly mentions access via mobile telephony or any other telematic means. This describes how the public accesses the information but is not enough to identify the mandatory channel the station must use to send it to MITECO.

3. Do not confuse communication to the Ministry and signage

There is another related but different obligation: informing prices on roads. Article 7 of Royal Decree-law 15/1999, in the cited wording, allows stations located on state roads to fulfill the obligation of certain signs by joining the price information system.

In that case, owners must notify the chosen option to the Directorate General of Roads or the competent Administration. This alternative affects signage: it should not be interpreted as a general exemption from reporting prices to the Ministry.

Meanwhile, Royal Decree 248/2001, of March 9, requires providing truthful and accurate information about price variations to the highway concessionaire or the responsible sign holder. This communication also does not replace, by itself, the administrative submission.

4. What is missing for a complete verification

To determine if a station complies correctly, it is necessary to specify the sending frequency, the deadline applicable to each change, the products to be declared, the treatment of taxes and discounts, the required credentials, and who assumes the communication. These aspects have not been verified in the consulted sources. Nor is there a general exemption or specific sanctioning regime applicable. Therefore, this answer identifies the legal framework and its differences but does not constitute a complete operational compliance checklist.