As this medium anticipated in mid-April, the international rise in petrélo and the data on inflation monthly march 6,7%the highest in the last 20 years, put pressure on the strategy with the prices of the fuels of the oil companies, many of which buy premium products abroad because they do not have sufficient refining capacity of that quality. As this medium learned, some refiners lost up to US$100 million in recent weeks due to the increase in the price of this product.
Last month, following the 10% average adjustment, and in the midst of the continuation of the Russian war and with international prices for Energy On the rise, the oil companies estimated that in the most optimistic case the delay in prices was 12%, although other important players in hydrocarbons placed it at 30% without counting this rise. With this May adjustment, in the sector they say that there is still 18% to reach an equilibrium price, as long as the dollar remains around $200.
With the average rises in February (9%), March (10%) and now May (11%), fuels accumulate this year an increase of just over 30%, above the four-monthly inflation, which with the April CPI that will be known next week, it will be around 22%. Last year, 2021 inflation was 50.9%, and the rise from oil of 30%.
PAG9-SHELL-MARIANO FUCHILA.jpg
Last week the owners of the service stations denounced that they barely “survive” with their businesses as a result of the delay in prices, inflation and wage increases and demanded a new adjustment. “For four years we have been operating in survival mode. First it was the recession, then the pandemic and now an economic context of uncertainty, marked by new peaks in inflation, the delay in prices, the shortage of fuel and parities that exceed capacity. industry payment”warned Gabriel BornoroniPresident of CHARACTERISTIC.
CECHA reported that “since the last recession began in Argentina, at the beginning of 2018, the retail market for liquid fuels has cumulatively lost sales of 8.2 million m3, which represents 5.2 times the total volume sold during April of 2018, the month taken as reference”.
Despite the fact that in the year fuels exceed the rise in consumer prices, the Confederation had warned regarding a significant delay with respect to inflation. “While the price of super gasoline increased 17.5% from June 2021 to March 2022, consumer prices increased 39.7%, food and beverage prices increased 43.8%, the price of fresh milk in sachets increased by 29.1% and the price of French bread increased by 45.4%,” he said.
CECHA noted that “during March 2022, total billing at constant prices was still 7.7% below the level recorded in March 2018, four years ago.”
According to calculations by the entity with data as of March 2022, “In the last four years, service stations across the country lost the equivalent of 5.5 months of billing.”
