Portugal’s government has announced a temporary cut to excise duty on road diesel in an attempt to soften the impact of a sharp rise in fuel prices expected from Monday, 9 March. According to the government, the measure applies to the Portuguese mainland and is intended to mitigate the shock of the latest pump price increase.
The measure takes the form of a temporary and extraordinary reduction in the ISP, Portugal’s tax on petroleum and energy products, for road diesel. The government said it was acting because, without intervention, diesel prices were expected to rise by 23.4 cents per litre in the coming week.
Portuguese business daily ECO reported that the tax cut amounts to 3.55 cents per litre, which means diesel is still expected to rise by around 19 cents per litre despite the intervention. The same report said that petrol is not covered by this support measure.
The decision follows an earlier commitment by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro to step in if weekly fuel price increases exceeded 10 cents per litre. That threshold was clearly breached after oil markets reacted to the latest conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, which has pushed up fuel costs across Europe.
Our related coverage looks at how the war in Iran is hitting global supply chains and why the effects are already spreading from shipping lanes to European road freight.
Iran crisis hits European transport: fuel, delays and surcharges (2 March 2026)
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Irish hauliers threaten rolling protests blocking major routes (9 March 2026)
