QCOSTARICA – The Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE) – Costa Rica refinery that refines nothing – raised before the Regulatory Authority a reduction of up to ¢156 in the price of fuels.
The RECOPE request of the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (ARESEP), is to a decrease of ¢156 colones for a liter of regular gasoline, ¢146 super and ¢118 for diesel.
If the adjustment is approved, the price of a liter of super gasoline at the pumps would go from ¢1,101 to ¢955, regular from ¢1,078 to ¢922, and diesel from ¢1,001 to ¢883.
Prices are the same at all gasoline stations across the country.
The President of RECOPE, Juan Manuel Quesada, explained that the reduction responds to the fact that RECOPE’s latest purchases were at a lower cost.
Quesada added that oil has been falling in price at the international level, as a result of the fear of a global economic recession and this will be reflected in the pockets of Costa Ricans in the coming weeks, most likely before the end of August, if not sooner.
President Rodrigo Chaves is urging the regulatory authority for approval asap.
“We have very good news for you, Recope has been buying much cheaper fuels and right now we are asking Aresep for a substantial reduction in the price of diesel and gasoline,” assured the president.
Read more: President Chaves wants to set ‘ceiling’ on gasoline prices
Quesada’s announcement comes after the ARESEP blamed RECOPE for the rise in gasoline and diesel because it made fuel purchases at a time when prices were high due to global shortages.
On July 21, the regulatory authority blame the refinery for the rise in gasoline and diesel, record prices being paid at a time when prices were high due to a fuel shortage. The result was a hike of ¢88 colones for a liter of regular and super and ¢131 for diesel.
On August 5, fuel prices went from ¢993 to ¢1,081 for regular, from ¢1,016 to ¢1,104 for super and from ¢873 to ¢1,004 for diesel.
