The price of gasoline has followed the trend of the international price of oil. The fuel reached its highest price on the same day that the main mixtures registered their highest price in the markets. That March 8, Brent crude closed at 127 dollars per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at 123 dollars per barrel, their highest prices since 2008.
And now the downward trend in the international price of oil has contributed to a drop in the price of gasoline. Yesterday Brent and WTI closed at 98 and 96 dollars per barrel, respectively, leaving behind the trend above 100 dollars that they registered after the beginning of the Russian occupation of Ukraine.
The international price of the molecule it is just a component of the price at which the fuel is sold to the final consumer. To this are added the logistical costs, the profit margin of the service stations and the different tax charges from the Ministry of Finance, which are currently not being applied in their entirety to avoid a drastic increase in prices. In the last few weeks, the reference price has increased its percentage in the total fixing of the price.
The nervousness of the markets regarding a probable shortage of crude oil has not ceased, but the latest confinement measures in China after a new outbreak of Covid-19 in the country, the shortage of buyers and the expectations for the decision of the Federal Reserve of the United States to contain inflation paid for a drop in the price of commodities.
But the decline in recent days may not be long-term, analysts say. The armed conflict in Eastern Europe and the economic sanctions against Russia will continue to serve as the main determining factors in the price of oil and fuels.
Generally, the increase in the reference price of gasoline is not immediately reflected in how it is sold to the public, mainly explained by the inventory turnover of the different participants in the chain, explains Daniel Rodríguez, associate director at OPIS.
But while prices are soaring on fears of an even bigger spike in the price of the molecule, prices are slowly falling as traders try to recoup investments meant to buy expensive inventories.
“In general, increases tend to be faster because retailers know that when they are going to have to make an inventory change it is going to be more expensive, so they are going to have to maximize income to have enough cash flow for the next purchase and a Once prices drop, players will try to recover the money they put in that inventory,” says Rodríguez.