After the increases, what was the price of fuel in Argentina compared to other countries?

Despite recent increases in fuel prices, Argentina continues to maintain prices, on average, lower than the rest of the countries in the region. Today, in the pumps of the city of Buenos Aires, the prices of the oil company YPF – which represents more than 50% of the market – are 40.43 dollars ($ 0.92) per liter of super naphtha and $ 37.94. (USD 0.86) for the liter of diesel.

"In comparison, you can see that In the case of diesel, we are international. But in the naphtha gives us the tendency that they have a delay in prices. Based on the future dollar and future contracts for Brent, it gives a cumulative increase of 22%. If we subtract the companies that had already increased in 2019, they would be missing about 3.5%. These are relative indicators, but they serve as a reference to see if they will go up or down, "he explained. Gabriel BornoronI, President of the Federation of Fuel Expenders (Fecac).

"We record a 7% decrease in national average fuel sales, by volume. The largest decline is in naphtha, and if it is withdrawn, it means that the oil companies have not increased what should have been increased. We have always been third or fourth at the regional level because it is a reality that 20% of fuel is imported, "he said.

However, when compared to prices in the interior of the country, the difference with the rest of the region is smaller. In Córdoba Capital, for example, the average price per liter (between different companies) is US $ 41.30 for high quality diesel 2 and US $ 45.73 for super naphtha. And in the province of Buenos Aires, $ 41.32 for diesel and $ 43.28 for super naphtha.

"There is a gap between the city of Buenos Aires and the rest of the provinces and even more with the small towns of the interior, between Córdoba and the federal capital, there is a difference of 11%," warned the head of Fecac.

The average price of super naphtha (95 octane) worldwide is 1.12 USD per liter and diesel 1.05 USD, according to surveys of the online platform Global Petrol Prices. In general, the more developed countries tend to have fuels with higher prices, while the poorest countries and the oil producing and exporting countries have much lower prices.

The United States is the exception, the retail prices of its fuels being below average (even lower than those of Argentina). In addition, price differences between countries respond to different internal taxes and fuel subsidies.