Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy raised the price of a gallon of gas .04% for September, fixing the Bogota reference gas price at $4.55 per gallon, according to a report by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
With different gas price references for different cities throughout the country, the most expensive cities to buy a gallon of gas are Tunja, Villavicencio, and Monteria, respectively, according to Colombia’s La Republica newspaper.
MORE: Colombia gas prices increase in July due to Iraq crisis
However, gas stations operating under different price references due to their geographical location, do have the power to change prices around the reference, so long as these price changes are reported to the Ministry of Mines and Energy and into its “information system of the supply chain of liquid fuels,” or Sicom.
In fact, this kind of competition between gas station owners is estimated to have brought down the price $.10 per gallon when compared to government reference prices.
Alvaro Younes, president of Fedispetrol, a private organization representing the majority of smaller gasoline distributors throughout Colombia, said that the increased gas station competition is because “the government has not done much to reduce the cost of a gallon to consumers.”
The cities with the lowest reference prices were Pasto ($3.08), Cartagena ($4.44), and Bucaramanga ($4.46).
Sources
- Tunja y Villavicencio tienen el galón más caro este mes (La Republica)
- Comunicado de precios de combustibles para el mes de septiembre (Ministry of Mines and Energy)
- Gobierno anunció que precio de la gasolina subirá 0,04% en septiembre (W Radio)
- Fedispetrol Historia (Fedispetrol)
