The reference oil price for the Dominican case, the WTI (West Texas Intermediate) closed on Friday at US$71.59 per barrel, about 13 cents more than on Thursday when its price was US$71.46.
During the past week the price of the WTI barrel lost 10.89%, a behavior that analysts attribute to concerns about the weak economic prospects in China, the European Union and the United States.
With future prices as of January 2023, Bloomberg reported a close on Friday for WIT on the New York Stock Exchange at US$71.02, for a drop of 0.62%. The barrel of Brent crude, which is traded in the United Kingdom, also fell to US$76.10 with a contract for February 2023.
For developed economies, international organizations estimate that they will be affected by a recession that could last until the end of the first half of 2023.
expert opinion
The Government has adopted as a strategy to amortize part of the debt that has accumulated due to increases in oil prices with subsidies and for this reason it has been freezing prices although the value has been decreasing in international markets, in the opinion of the dean of Economy from the UASD, Antonio Ciriaco Cruz.
He recalled that the prices were capped and remained without increases and that is why the declines that world oil prices have experienced for several weeks, the Government has also capped the local prices of derivatives.
“This means that there is a significant saving between the maximum price that the Government set for itself and the decrease in prices,” said the economist.
In this regard, he indicated that what the Government is doing is amortizing the debt that accumulated in the past and that although this is not new, since on other previous occasions governments have also used that strategy.
According to Ciriaco, given the downward trend in oil prices, the Government keeps the tariff and fuel prices fixed to pay off the debt, in addition to another strategy with which it seeks that when they rise again they do not affect inflation.
The reference oil price for the Dominican case, the WTI (West Texas Intermediate) closed on Friday at US$71.59 per barrel, about 13 cents more than on Thursday when its price was US$71.46.
During the past week the price of the WTI barrel lost 10.89%, a behavior that analysts attribute to concerns about the weak economic prospects in China, the European Union and the United States.
With future prices to January 2023, it reported a close on Friday of the WIT in the New York stock market at US$71.02, for a drop of 0.62%. The barrel of Brent crude, which is traded in the United Kingdom, also fell to US$76.10 with a contract for February 2023.
For developed economies, international organizations estimate that they will be affected by a recession that could last until the end of the first half of 2023.
Local market
Fuel prices remain unchanged during the week of December 10-16. The gallon of Premium gasoline continues at RD$293.60, that of regular gasoline at RD$274.50, the optimal diesel at RD$241.10 and regular diesel at RD$221.60.
Similarly, the gallon of Liquefied Petroleum Gases (LPG) remains at RD$147.60. Natural Gas costs RD$28.97 per m3.
According to a document from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM), the Vice Minister of Internal Commerce, Ramón Pérez FermÃn, reported this Friday that throughout this year the government of President Luis Abinader, to keep the prices of fuels for domestic use has allocated almost 35 billion pesos in extraordinary subsidies, although he clarified that the amounts allocated to contain the increases in recent weeks are less than those of most weeks of this 2022. The Vice Minister of Internal Commerce, Ramón Pérez FermÃn, reported this Friday that throughout this year the government of President Luis Abinader, to keep the prices of fuels for domestic use unchanged, has allocated almost RD$35,000 million in extraordinary subsidies, although he clarified that the amounts allocated to contain the increases in recent weeks are lower than those of most weeks of this 2022.