In pumps the lowest value of the last 11 years is paid. Argentina vs neighboring countries: how much is the difference
By Claudio Zlotnik
10/05/2023 – 10,33hs
In the service stations a very different situation is perceived with respect to the rest of the economy: the price of fuels is in a historical delay. Specifically: the value at gasoline and diesel pumps is at the lowest level in the last decade, in real terms.
The average price of fuels – taking into account the super and premium gasoline and also the different types of diesel – is currently $226 per liter in Argentina.
At current prices, this value is the lowest in the last eleven years. He average price since January 2012 – discounted inflation – amounts to $271. The data appears in the latest monthly report from the specialized consultancy Economía & Energía, directed by Nicolás Arceo.
The price of the fuels It has been declining since May 2021: at that time it was $284 (at today’s values), with a slight rebound in May of last year, when it was $264.
With these numbers in sight, it means that the average fuel price it is 19.9% behind, in historical terms. This delay would deepen throughout this year: the Government has just agreed on a path of 4% monthly increases in fuels, below inflation, which already has a floor of 7% per month.
To take into account: the peak of the fuel price of the last decade was in June 2014, when it climbed to $327 from the current $226. In other words, it was 44.7% higher than now.
Demand continues to rise
In this context of prices that rise less than the inflationthe demand for fuels remains firm.
“The demanded de oil it grew 7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023 and diesel did so by 1% despite the contraction in the volumes demanded by the agricultural sector,” the consultancy publishes in its latest monthly report.
This growth, especially in the gasoil, It occurs in a context where there was a record demand in 2022, which caused a supply crisis. This year, due to the drop in agricultural production, the demand for diesel in that sector fell by 49%.
“The slight increase in the demand for diesel, in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, is mainly due to the increase in sales to the public,” Arceo says in the report.
The price of gasoline: Argentina vs the neighbors
Arceo’s report also shows that the price of gasoline in Argentina It is cheaper than in the rest of the neighboring countries, which causes a sales boom in neighboring service stations.
sales in Gualeguaychúfor example, are 20% higher than last year.
In Argentina, the average price of gasoline amounts to 41 cents (blue), against US$1.09 in Brazil; $1.15 in Paraguay; US$1.61 in Chile and US$1.89 in Uruguay.
