This Wednesday the fuels will have the first price increase of the year of 27%but together with the rise of last November and December they will accumulate a rise of around 76 %. The increase was confirmed by the head of the Chamber of Fuel Companies, Raul Castellanosand the liter of super gasoline would exceed the value of the $ 800.
It’s about the third sharp rise in fuel prices in less than a month, which adds to the 12% at the end of November and the 37% in mid-December. Being a fundamental component as raw material of many production chains and transportation, it strongly impacts the general price level of the economy, on a inflation which is already estimated to exceed 30% monthly in the month of December. The lower income sectors are the most affected by the increase in the cost of living.
@danisanmart_ Long lines at service stations to try to earn a little money from the new hit to the pocket #casta #nafta #robo#milei @La Izquierda Diario ♬ jazzy hip hop beat (battle)(901201) – RIKIYA
In principle, it would be the private oil companies (Shell, Axxion) who would adjust their prices: there is still no confirmation from YPF. With the “freed prices” by the Milei government in favor of large companies, and the measure of the Ministry of Energy to have increases for biodiesel and bioethanol ranging from 28.45% to 34.44% on 28 December, it was expected that the oil companies would transfer, at least in part, the higher cost to the final price of fuel, but in view of the percentages, they would be transferring almost all of it.
The jump in the price of fuel at the pump exceeded annual inflation and the devaluation of the official dollar. At the beginning of 2023, a liter of super started the year at $150.90 and ended at $553, which represents an increase of 266.22%. Meanwhile, the liter of premium went from $185.90 to $684, which shows an evolution of 267.74%.
Now, super gasoline would exceed $800, which means a jump of 430% compared to the beginning of 2023.
The head of the Chamber of Fuel Companies, Castellanos, said yesterday on television that “what affects service stations is the comparison of prices and inflation, not the production costs that are the subject of refiners. With “This calculation that I said, for the stations we were very behind and they had been equalized. In 2023, the increases were 260% and the inflation was 200%, so there are 60% percentage points that covered that gap.” And he finished by posing “The current pattern is price freedom”.
The oil companies justify the increase by taking “dollarized” values, but salaries are not at the dollar level. The international reference price, that of super gasoline, went from having a value of US$ 0.75, to be with this new jump between US$ 1 and US$ 1.1 per liter.
The increase in fuel costs directly impacts the rest of consumer products, as well as public transportation. This was confirmed by the vice president of the Automotive Transport Association when announcing monthly increases since mid-January and a bus ticket for 300 pesos in February.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
