Colombians pay $4.85 a gallon for Regular unleaded gasoline
Drop in gasoline prices is first in more than two years
Colombia's government announced monday it is lowering gasoline prices due to a drop in international crude prices, a welcome and rare development for drivers in this andean nation who pay more at the pump than those in many industrialized nations.
"We're lowering the price by 100 pesos ($0.06) so Colombians will see that gasoline prices can, in fact, go down," Carlos Rodado, the country's mines and energy minister, told a press conference.
Rodado said international prices for crude oil have fallen to around $82 a barrel recently from an average of around $98 a barrel in July, giving the government the room it needed to lower prices slightly.
Colombians currently pay about COP8,600, or $4.85, for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline.
Starting tuesday, the new price will be COP8,500, the minister said.
The regulated prices vary slightly according to cities, with the capital Bogota paying among the highest.
Except for a slight reduction in gasoline prices in early 2.009 in the wake of a sharp drop in global crude prices, Colombian consumers have grown used to prices at the pump steadily rising as the government seeks to do away with costly gasoline subsidies that have hurt its fiscal position.
Colombia's Gasoline Price Stabilization Fund has a deficit of about 1.5 trillion pesos ($841 million) due to subsidies paid when international oil prices were increasing.
Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said in the press conference that he hopes this deficit can be erased over the coming months, assuming oil prices don't begin to rise sharply again.
He said the current price Colombian consumers pay for gasoline is very close to the amount it costs to produce, refine and transport the fuel to retail outlets.
A truckers union and other labor groups in Colombia have staged minor protests this year against the rise in gasoline prices.
Drop in gasoline prices is first in more than two years
Colombia's government announced monday it is lowering gasoline prices due to a drop in international crude prices, a welcome and rare development for drivers in this andean nation who pay more at the pump than those in many industrialized nations.
"We're lowering the price by 100 pesos ($0.06) so Colombians will see that gasoline prices can, in fact, go down," Carlos Rodado, the country's mines and energy minister, told a press conference.
Rodado said international prices for crude oil have fallen to around $82 a barrel recently from an average of around $98 a barrel in July, giving the government the room it needed to lower prices slightly.
Colombians currently pay about COP8,600, or $4.85, for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline.
Starting tuesday, the new price will be COP8,500, the minister said.
The regulated prices vary slightly according to cities, with the capital Bogota paying among the highest.
Except for a slight reduction in gasoline prices in early 2.009 in the wake of a sharp drop in global crude prices, Colombian consumers have grown used to prices at the pump steadily rising as the government seeks to do away with costly gasoline subsidies that have hurt its fiscal position.
Colombia's Gasoline Price Stabilization Fund has a deficit of about 1.5 trillion pesos ($841 million) due to subsidies paid when international oil prices were increasing.
Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said in the press conference that he hopes this deficit can be erased over the coming months, assuming oil prices don't begin to rise sharply again.
He said the current price Colombian consumers pay for gasoline is very close to the amount it costs to produce, refine and transport the fuel to retail outlets.
A truckers union and other labor groups in Colombia have staged minor protests this year against the rise in gasoline prices.
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