The Ministry of Finance announced that, as of February 1, the price of current gasoline will produce a maximum increase of 254 per gallon in some cities, while the price of diesel will remain stable.
The increases oscillate between 246 and 254 pesos per gallon, but taking into account the 13 main cities in the country, the increase is 232 pesos on average, settling at 10,399 pesos per gallon for February.
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This way, five months of continuous increases in the cost of gasoline are completed, which add up to approximately 1,250 pesos. The increase for February is higher than the 200 pesos that were announced between October and December 2022 and the 400 pesos that was in force in January.
After this increase, the most expensive gallon will be obtained in villavicencio, with a price of 10,873 pesos, followed by Cali with 10,813 pesos. In Bogotá, the cost per gallon will be 10,773 pesos and in Medellín 10,712 pesos.
Of the 250 pesos that will be the increase in some cities such as Bogotá, Cúcuta and Villavicencio, 191 pesos correspond to the national tax (80 pesos) and the wholesale distribution margin (111 pesos), as explained by the Ministry of Finance.
In addition, 59 pesos are for variations in income to the fossil fuel producer and its effect on the structure, whose differential with the international price is stabilized through the Liquid Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (FEPC). Also due to the reduction of the ethanol blend level per gallon of gasoline from 5 to 4 percent for February.
Gasoline price by cities.
With these increases in the price of regular gasoline, it is intended reduce the fiscal impact of the FEPC on the National Government due to the dynamics of international prices of refined products, which have been due to international factors such as the price of oil and the level of global risk that affected the exchange rate in the country.
According to the Ministry of Finance, even including the increase in the price of regular gasoline, Colombia continues to have one of the cheapest gasoline and diesel prices in Latin America due to the operation of the FEPC, which has mitigated the inflationary pressure of the increases in the prices of oil and its derivatives in recent months.
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In the absence of the FEPC operation so far in 2023, the prices of current gasoline and ACPM were located, on average, at more than 5,150 and 10,600 pesos above the current average sales price per gallon, respectively.
In the city of Pasto the cost of gasoline will not have any increase as a result of the closure of the Pan-American highway that has made it difficult to supply this fuel since January 9. Therefore, for February the price will remain at 8,916 pesos.
Regarding diesel, the National Government continues with its price certainty policy and, therefore, the income to the fossil producer of the ACPM stabilized by the FEPC was reduced so as not to impact the price of this fuel, due to the increases in the national tax and the retail distribution margin.
This means that the price of diesel in the different cities of the country will be 9,065 pesos per gallon.
