The price of butane gives a small respite to households. Starting this Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the standard 12.5 kilogram butane cylinder will cost 15.39 euros, which represents a drop of 5.87% compared to the 16.35 euros set in the March review. This decrease, already published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), breaks the trend of the year (which began with two increases), and leaves the price of the traditional orange bottle at its lowest level in recent months.
This price will remain in force until July 21, 2026, since the maximum retail prices are reviewed bimonthly (every two months) with effect on the third Tuesday of each month, as established in Order TED/211/2025.
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The decrease in this latest revision is due to the reduction of VAT to 10% and the suppression of the Hydrocarbon Tax temporarily established by Royal Decree-Law 7/2026, which approves the Comprehensive Response Plan to the Crisis in the Middle East, which are independent of the 5% limit, up or down, established for butane.
In this way, these measures compensate for the rise in the price of raw materials (+74.5%) and the cost of freight (+39.8%), as well as the depreciation of the euro against the dollar (-1.2%), as reported by sources from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge collected by Europa Press. Thus, although the international cost of butane and maritime transport continues to rise, the tax reduction approved by the Government has made it possible to lower the final price of the cylinder.
How the price of the butane cylinder is calculated
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition publishes every two months in the Official State Gazette the resolution that sets the new maximum prices before taxes for commercial butane. Although it is usually published on Mondays, the new prices come into effect on the third Tuesday of the month in which said revision was made.
The price is set in cts. €/kg taking into account the price of the raw material in international markets, freight (transport), marketing costs and the euro-dollar exchange rate. Once this price per kilo is marked, it is multiplied by 12.5 kg (the weight of the standard cylinder) and, then, the Special Tax on Hydrocarbons and 21% VAT are added, the resulting amount being the price paid by the consumer. Now, since the entry into force of Decree-Law 7/2026, the hydrocarbon tax is not applied and only 10% VAT is added, hence the price of the cylinder has been able to drop.
On the other hand, acting independently, price revisions, upward or downward, are limited to 5%, with the excess or defect in price accumulating for application in subsequent revisions. This is the case for the traditional bottle, since the lighter containers (such as those made of plastic or light steel on the free market) are not subject to this regulated rate, so distributors can establish their own prices, except in those cases where there is no other type of supply in the area.
Butane consumption in decline
In 2025, 57 million LPG containers of different capacities will be consumed. It is a fuel in decline, since since 2021, total consumption of bottled LPG has decreased by more than 12%.
Historical evolution of the price of the butane cylinder
In this latest review, the butane cylinder drops, but it is not its minimum amount. Below you can consult the price history of recent years:
| Date | Price |
|---|---|
| July 21, 2020 | €12.72 |
| September 15, 2020 | €12.09 |
| November 17, 2020 | €12.69 |
| January 19, 2021 | €13.30 |
| March 16, 2021 | €13.96 |
| July 20, 2021 | €15.37 |
| September 21, 2021 | €16.13 |
| November 16, 2021 | €16.92 |
| January 18, 2022 | €17.76 |
| March 15, 2022 | €18.63 |
| May 17, 2022 | €19.55 |
| July 19, 2022 | €19.55 |
| September 20, 2022 | €19.55 |
| November 15, 2022 | €18.59 |
| January 17, 2023 | €17.67 |
| July 18, 2023 | €15.18 |
| September 19, 2023 | €14.43 |
| January 16, 2024 | €15.89 |
| March 19, 2024 | €16.67 |
| May 21, 2024 | €16.14 |
| July 18, 2024 | €15.34 |
| September 17, 2024 | €15.93 |
| November 18, 2024 | €16.61 |
| January 20, 2025 | €16.64 |
| March 18, 2025 | €17.67 |
| May 20, 2025 | €18.00 |
| July 15, 2025 | €17.11 |
| September 16, 2025 | €16.27 |
| November 20, 2025 | €15.46 |
| January 20, 2026 | €15.58 |
| March 17, 2026 | €16.35 |
| May 19, 2026 | €15.39 |