QCOSTARICA – Get ready for even higher gasoline prices before the end of the month, as economists anticipate a new request for an increase in the price of fuels, by the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE).
After the historic increase of up to ¢121 colones for a liter of fuel, approved by the regulating authority, the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP) weeks ago and went into effect last Thursday, March 31, RECOPE will propose a new adjustment this Friday, April 8 (the second Friday of the month) as stipulated in the methodology in setting fuel prices.
The regulating authority will then have 15 days to analyze and either approve, deny or propose different rates, which then go into effect days later at all gasoline pumps across the country.
Currently, a liter of super costs ¢909, regular ¢889, and diesel ¢845. It is expected that a new adjustment would increase the foregoing historic prices even further, most likely before the end of the month.
Economist Daniel Suchar explained that the pressure will be generated by a rebound in the international price of oil caused by the sanctions imposed on Russia.
Economist, Vidal Villalobos, assured that the adjustment could be uncertain, taking into account the behavior of the exchange rate and the instability in the international price of hydrocarbons.
In Congress, a substitute text was approved that proposes reducing the single tax on fuels by up to ¢100 colones per liter, an initiative that has been rejected by the President-elect, Rodrigo Chaves, and the current Ministro de Hacienda (Minister of Finance), Elián Villegas.
