The increase in the international price of crude oil has caused an escalation in the price of premium gasoline, which is the only liberalized price in the country.
After an event, organized by the oil industry in Quitothe manager of petroecuador, Ítalo Cedeño, assured that in the service stations of the state oil company the price of a gallon of super gasoline will not exceed $4 from Sunday March 12, 2022.
«In our stations it will not exceed $4. We set the price and it will be exactly $3.98. That comes from the import cost, plus the marketing margin and VAT », he said.
However, Cedeño stressed that it cannot be guaranteed that private companies will sell at the same price. »As there is no ceiling, they can sell at whatever price they want, but obviously, if they sell it at a very high price, nobody is going to buy from them», he pointed out.
At the moment, Petroecuador has 261 service stations in your records. Of this total, 204 are affiliated to the network, 45 are their own and 12 are artisanal fishing deposits.
Consequence of the war between Ukraine and Russia
On March 11, 2022, the Energy Control Agency You must send the suggested price of super gasoline to all private marketers and distributors. That price will be in effect from March 12 to April 11, 2022.
In recent weeks, the international price of WTI crude oilwhich is the reference for Ecuador, has fluctuated between a maximum of $123 and a minimum of $104 per barrel.
This upward scenario, as a consequence of the problems related to the war between Russia and Ukraine, has caused various sectors to project that super gasoline could cost between $4.10 and $4.40 in the next update.
To date, this fuel is priced at $3.68 per gallon, which represents 61% more than what was recorded at the beginning of 2021.
People prefer extra gasoline
The high costs to fill the tank of vehicles has caused many consumers to think of cheaper options such as the extra and the ecocountry. However, the change can seriously affect the engine, depending on the model and the date of manufacture.
Since December 2018, the price of super gasoline has been liberalized and fluctuates along with the international barrel of crude oil.
In 2011, more than 13% of the fuel market was concentrated in the supermarket, but now the percentage is a little more than 4%. (JS)
