QCOSTARICA – The Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE) – Costa Rican Oil Refinery that refines nothing, announced that the next adjustment in fuel prices will have a strong upward impact due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
RECOPE announced on Thursday that Costa Rica will be “seriously” affected by the increase in fuel prices, as a result of the escalation in international costs of oil and its derivatives.
The international conflict caused the cost of a barrel of oil to exceed US$100 for the first time in seven years, according to the WTI Crude Oil Spot Price.
In the Thursday press release, the refinery did not give any details of the possible increase.
The increase will be reflected in the next adjustment price request RECOPE will be making to the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP), regulating authority, due by March 11.
Freddy Martínez, head of Economic and Financial Studies at RECOPE, said that the situation in Ukraine also puts pressure on the exchange rate, which in turn impacts the cost of importing oil.
Personal financial expert Daniel Suchar pointed out that the price of a barrel of oil will continue to rise as long as the conflict in Ukraine is not resolved.
ARESEP will resolve this Friday the latest increase request by RECOPE corresponding to February, for an increase in fuel prices of ¢58 for a liter of super gasoline, ¢57 for regular gasoline, and ¢54 for diesel.
When approved, the price per liter of super gasoline in Costa Rica will go from ¢765 to ¢823; regular from ¢748 to ¢805; and the diesel from ¢671 to ¢725.
The approved prices would take effect most likely before the end of the next week, following publication in La Gaceta, within five days of approval.
