A last-minute change of plan saw federal authorities lower the announced start-of-year gasoline price increase from three to 1.9 percent.
January 1 Magna gas went up to 13.57 pesos a liter, while Premium now costs 14.38 pesos a liter and diesel fuel 14.20 pesos a liter.
Officials at Mexico’s Treasury Department said the gas hike is the only one planned for 2015, although they stressed that the executive branch has the authority to implement any additional increases it deems necessary in case of “market volatility.”
The officials said the move was not related to the sharp drop in the price of crude oil but due to a “reassessment” of the income that will be generated from the hike.
The 1.9-percent hike is less than the projected inflation rate for 2015 of between three and four percent, they noted.
The single increase this year replaces the monthly gas hikes that have seen the cost of gasoline in Mexico increase by around 3.5 percent a year since 2009.
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