The Government continued to borrow from fuel importers to curb increases in oil derivatives to consumers. For this week it assumed RD$600 million, to accumulate RD$2,500 million so far this year.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes (MICM) reported the new fiscal sacrifice that the Government will have for the week of February 12 to 18, to keep the prices of all fuels unchanged. He reported that the “Government will assume approximately 600 million pesos to cushion the significant increases in the barrel of oil in the international market.”
“Once again the Government assumes 100% of the increases determined by the international market, with values that we had not seen in recent years and that exert terrible pressure on the local market,” said Ramón Pérez Fermín, MICM Vice Minister of Internal Trade. .
Hikes avoided
Pérez Fermín added that, if the Government had not intervened, the price of liquefied petroleum gas would have increased more than RD$15 pesos per gallon this week alone, while premium gasoline should have risen more than RD$19.00 per gallon and regular gasoline, more of RD$26 per gallon, according to projected increases. As for regular diesel, it must have increased by more than 38 pesos per gallon and optimal diesel approximately RD$28 pesos per gallon.
“However, these increases will not occur and the Government will manage the debt with importers, amounting to RD$600 million,” reported Pérez Fermín, who explained that the factors that are pressing for the international rise, mainly the geopolitical crisis between Russia and Ukraine, they remain and are the ones that have generated unprecedented values of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil.
The prices that will be maintained are RD$287.60 per gallon for Premium gasoline, RD$270.50 for regular, RD$217.60 for regular diesel, RD$236.10 for optimal diesel, RD$198.98 per gallon for avtur, RD$227.60 for kerosene, RD$162.95 for fuel oil number 6, RD$180.29 for fuel oil 1% S, and RD$147.60 for LPG.
The barrel of oil closed at US$93.10 in NY
Texas Intermediate Oil price closed up 3.6% to $93.10 after the market reacted to Washington’s expressed expectations that Russia would invade Ukraine in the coming days. New York Mercantile Exchange WTI futures contracts for March delivery totaled $3.22.
