The sensation of vertigo and oppression of the endless lines when fuel was scarce for a single week last November contrasts with the resignation with which motorists queue to complete their load in the service stationsio. Perhaps the explanation is that in an economy in which prices move at a speed of more than 25% monthly, this rise is not out of place. But, above all, it was predictable because the liter of super was only related to another good duly stepped on in recent months: the official dollar.
According to estimates by economist Salvador Vitelli, head of Research at the Romano Group consulting firm, the historical average is $830 at current prices, but with the recent increase, the price in CABA for a liter of super gasoline is still 15% down ($700). A “correction” that is still insufficient to reach the historical figure but that pushes inflation due to its great capacity to leverage increases in related sectors, especially cargo and passenger transport.
Precisely, according to a study by the Department of Economic Studies and Costs of FADEEAC and audited by the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), the costs of freight transportation closed 2023 with what they call a double record: the 28.23% increase from Decembere was the highest monthly percentage in the last 30 years and the accumulated annual increase climbed to 248%, double what was registered in 2022 (121%), which had been the highest figure in 20 years.
Another chapter is the also foreseeable update of the price of urban transportation, especially in the AMBA where the subsidized section is the largest in the country. Already before this latest fuel increase, business entities had calculated that the nominal price should be at $850, considering the different bonuses and discounts, a value that with the announced rate of $77 to be implemented in January is still out of date and dependent on the flow. continuous subsidies. It is still worth incorporating into this equation the new price of diesel and the promise of a new policy of subsidizing demand instead of supply, for which there is still no fine print or signs of how and when it would be implemented.
by RN
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