Arequipa: regular and premium gasoline prices are reduced

Arequipa. In recent days, vehicle queues at service stations have been frequent due to the shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and which, in turn, has generated an increase in its price.

The professor of the Department of Economic and Business Sciences of the San Pablo Catholic University, Patricio Lewis, He explained that the shortage due to the strong waves of the last few days is temporary and notorious, because it is a product that is consumed daily. “The same thing that is produced in the LPG plants is sold in quantity, a day that does not supply the amount of imported oil, is practically a dead day,” he explained.

To deal with this problem, the Ministry of Energy and Mines ordered some measures such as the sale of this fuel, which is intended to be sold in bulk, and distributed in a packaged manner, but only for a period of seven days.

other fuels

Since May 1, taps can only have two types of gasoline: regular and premium. For this reason they had to stop selling 90, 95 and 97 octane fuel to users.

For the economist, this is a positive measure because the purity of the fuel is guaranteed and it is less polluting. The regular is the one with the lowest octane and the premium the one with the highest octane.
According to the Supervisory Agency for Investment in Energy and Mining (Osinergmin), this measure could imply a price reduction. Lewis points out that this would happen because since the cheapest gasolines were grouped together, the consumer will now pay an average. The same with the highest priced ones, which are the premium ones. Most taps already manage these prices (see infographic).

Projection for the year

According to the specialist, throughout this year there has been a decrease in the price of oil, as countries are entering a recession.

A barrel of oil has a price of 74 dollars, when last year it was above 110 dollars. “It is a 40% drop in price, which would make gasoline start to fall in price.