Argentina to suspend fixed fuel prices

Argentina’s Minister of Energy and Mining Juan José Aranguren said on Monday that the country would soon discontinue its price-setting scheme for domestically-consumed fuel.

International oil prices have finally recovered enough for the government to let fuel prices float freely, starting October 1, the oil minister said to reporters at the Argentina Oil & Gas Expo in Buenos Aires.

Over the past 16 years, Argentina’s government has authorised fuel prices through agreements with refiners including YPF, Shell, Pampa Energía and Axion Energy.

President Mauricio Macri began dismantling the system in January with the signing of executive agreements that allowed for the quarterly revision of domestic fuel prices based on several factors including international oil prices and exchange rates.

Though the country is moving towards the complete liberalisation of the fuel retail market, Minister Aranguren said that price-setting could again be implemented in the event of another global oil price downturn.