MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fuel at Argentine pumps goes up for the second time this year

The new increase is a consequence of the war in Ukraine, it was explained

Argentina's state-run oil company YPF has increased its prices at pumps between 9.5% and 11.5%. It was the second rise this year. Other brands such as Shell have followed suit. The last increase had been in February.

YPF argued that the price increase was linked to the rise in international oil prices due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, coupled with a growth in domestic demand, which is already above pre-pandemic levels.

“This [demand] may be the result of either the virtual disappearance of public transport or its higher costs, which make owning a car more affordable in the end,” an Argentine consumer told MercoPress in Buenos Aires. “Taxis are nowhere to be found and bus rides in the provinces are almost luxurious items when the whole, typical family of 4 goes over to Granny's...”

A YPF statement also explained: ”International oil prices increased significantly during the last weeks, reaching record levels (50% above prices at the beginning of February 2022).“

The company added that ”YPF will continue to monitor the evolution of the variables that affect price formation, taking into consideration the particularities of the macroeconomic context of the country and the international reality.“

Shell followed in YPF's footsteps and increased its fuels after Feb. 2's average rise for all companies. Shell's basic fuels went up 9.5% and its premium line rose by 11.5% as of Monday.

Axion was expected to make a similar announcement any time Monday. YPF, together with Axion and Shell, have the largest share of the local gasoline market.

”Whenever prices go up internationally; they also rise over here; when they drop internationally, they also go up over here. That's Argentine magic,” the user also complained.