SPAIN’S Economy Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, says that the government will try to ‘minimise’ the impact of energy price hikes on ‘citizens and companies’ as a result of the Iran war.
Speaking to TVE on Tuesday, Cuerpo, has said the government is monitoring prices to avoid speculative movements, but that it is still too early to know the effect that the war will have on the day-to-day lives of consumers.
Petrol pump prices which have been falling steadily over recent months are expected to rise by around 10 cents per litre this week- according to some Spanish media reports.
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Carlos Cuerpo said: “The most normal thing, if the rise in oil prices continues as it is, then it will end up being reflect in fuel prices at petrol stations.”
He stressed that the government ‘is prepared to react and put the necessary measures on the table’, but added that ‘the real extent’ of a conflict that ‘has only just begun’ is still unknown.
Cuerpo added: “We are going to see how it ends up being transmitted to our economy, to our prices and, based on that, if we see that we end up seeing a negative effect on our economy, then obviously we are prepared to react and put the necessary measures on the table, just as we did in 2022.”
He commented that there has only be one day for markets to respond and any final impact will depend ‘to a large extent’ on the duration of the conflict.
As a means of comparison, the price of gas leapt to above €340 in the wake of the war in Ukraine in 2022, compared to the €50 it stands during the current Iran conflict.
Events in the Middle East will almost certainly have an impact on Spain’s inflation rate, which stood at 2.3% in February.
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