Gasoline prices in the country have risen $530 since January

For the second time, the government of Gustavo Petro raised the price of gasoline. As the president had pointed out, these increases correspond to the need to close the gap between local and international prices, which It has led the Government to acquire liabilities that this year will add up to $38 billion.

This has led to prices rising since September. However, this is only for gasoline and not Acpm. In this way so far this year the rise average in gasoline amounts to $531 in the 13 main cities.

(Read: Oil recovers but with concern about the geopolitical environment).

In the case of diesel, only one modification was made in July, with what was established at $9,018 on average in the main cities. And this year will not have new adjustments.

“We say to gasoline consumers that we will return to the path of price growth, and that the objective will be nothing more than to reduce the irresponsibly accumulated deficit. We will not touch the derivatives of Acpm”, said the president through his Twitter account.

In this regard, the Minister of Finance, José Antonio Ocampo, He said that during this year they would be done monthly at $200 each month and that it would be reviewed the other year as inflation subsided if stronger increases were made and if diesel also climbed.

The average price from November 1 for gasoline was established at $9,579 for the 13 main cities.

According to calculations by the Autonomous Committee of the Fiscal Rule (Carf), these three adjustments in only one of the causes of the deficit due to fuel subsidies, would reduce the debt by $600,000 million. This is because the price differentials (that is, what is subsidized) is around $8,000 for gasoline and for diesel it is close to $12,000, explains Andrés Velasco, technical director of Carf.

By December 1, a final increase in gasoline prices is expected to take effect for the remainder of the year. The Treasury expects that they will be sustained increases until the price differential is closed.

If the whole next year is done in the same magnitude ($200), the cumulative reduction in the deficit would be $9 trillion, with which next year’s total debt would be $29.5 billion, according to calculations by the Fiscal Rule Committee.

This debt is relevant since if it is included in the balance sheet of the National Central Government the fiscal deficit would not be 4.8% as they expect at the end of the year but 7%that is, 2.2 percentage points higher, according to Corficolombiana’s accounts.
However, the debt for the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (Fepc) is not counted in the CNG but enters other government accounts.

(Also: This is how gasoline prices were for November in the cities).

By announcing that gasoline prices would rise and the Acpm would not, President Petro also noted on his Twitter account that “Congress can advance the debate on the fuel price structure, and its indexation with international oil prices, which includes the purchase of oil that Ecopetrol makes within the country at international prices.”

It should be remembered that the price differential occurs since oil has been very high, with what the refined products of this have been affected.

What the president proposed is that the domestic price of oil not be affected by international volatilities. In this way, fuels would also remain stable, since the country produces most of the fuels consumed.

(See: In the US they propose a tax on unexpected profits from oil companies).

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