Gasoline Could Increase ¢50 Per Litre in the Coming Week
The rising cost of crude oil will have a drastif effect in Costa Rica.

Now that the cost of a barrel of crude oil reached the us$58 mark and based on an automatic formula to calculate the increase in the price of gasoline, Costa Ricans may face a stiff increase of ¢50 colones (us$0.105 cents) per litre at the pumps in a short time.

The Refinadora Costarricense de Petroleo (RECOPE) will be making a formal request before the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Publicos (ARESEP) for an increase that can take effect as early as next week.

RECOPE and ARESEP deny that any application has been made for an increase, however, based on the rising cost of the crude, it is expected in the coming days and without a doubt.

The automatic pricing formula allows RECOPE to make the request for the price jump at the pumps. RECOPE says it has sufficient reserves of crude and gasoline products at the lower prices, but it will soon be used up, forcing it purchase more crude at the newer prices, forcing the increase of prices at the retail level.

The higher cost of gasoline will have a dramatic effect on the Costa Rican economy if the government doesn't move quickly to curb consumer consumption.

The government's announcement this week to reduce vehicular traffic on certain downtown roads of San José at peak hours and to shift working hours of government employees next month is now critical.