During the month of April, The sale of fuel in the province of La Rioja decreased by 16.8% compared to the same month in 2023 and has already accumulated five consecutive months with declining figuressince Javier Milei assumed the presidency of the Nation.
The data released in the monthly report published by the National Energy Secretariat They showed that in April 11,210 cubic meters (m3) of fuel were sold at the province’s service stations (the figure includes diesel and gasoline) while in the same month last year 13,474 m3 had been consumed.. This negative difference determined a 16.8% drop in consumption.
The drop in consumption is directly related to the increase in fuel prices as a consequence of the general liberalization of prices authorized by the government of President Milei.. In the last five months, in La Rioja fuel prices increased by 133%, which caused sales to fall in December, January, February, March and April.
Besides, The official report also revealed that of the total liters of fuel sold, 59.6% correspond to the sale of gasoline (6,691 m3) and 40.4% to the sale of diesel (4,519 m3).. With respect to diesel, in April 2,334 m3 of common diesel and 2,185 m3 of ultra diesel were sold. In the case of gasoline, of the total sold, a consumption of 5,413 m3 of super gasoline and 1,278 m3 of ultra gasoline was recorded.
On the other hand, monthly fuel consumption fell 7.5% in April compared to March. The official report specified that diesel shipments fell by 5.8% in April in relation to what had been sold in March, while in the case of gasoline, a drop of 8.6% was reported in April also with respect to the last month.
Fall in real consumption
Sales in supermarkets in the province registered a nominal increase of 238.5% during March compared to the same period last year, according to recent data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC). However, This growth is overshadowed by year-on-year inflation of 277.3%, resulting in a drop in real consumption of 38.8%as indicated by the portal Rioja Economy.
Despite the increase in billing, which exceeded $6,806 million during the month analyzed, Effective consumption was negatively affected by the challenge of keeping up with constantly rising prices since the inauguration of Javier Milei as President of the Nation, who doubled the value of the official exchange rate in his first month in office, which had a direct impact on inflation. The average ticket per operation reached $18,401reflecting inflationary pressure on consumers’ purchasing power.
The INDEC report indicates that These figures represent the latest data available on consumption behavior in the province’s supermarkets.. The Supermarket Survey, which is carried out monthly, covers a wide range of companies in the sector, including national and local chains with at least one store of more than 300 m2.
