Argentina says fuel shortages should ease soon

The Argentine
government and oil companies on Saturday said fuel shipments are
starting to arrive that in coming days should ease a shortage,
after a spike in demand caused long lines at gas stations.
Ten fuel shipments imported by the government are beginning
to arrive, although distribution may take a few days, Energy
Secretary Flavia Royon told a local radio station, noting that
there would be no abrupt price increases.
Royon attributed the shortage in part to tourism during a
long weekend and rumors of possible price increases following
the Oct. 22 presidential election. The run-off vote is Nov. 19.
“It generated a psychosis of ‘you have to go and fill up the
tank'” she said.
Argentine refineries supply 80% of the local market while
the rest comes from fuel imports.
Long lines at the pump have added to frustrations for
Argentines already under the strain of an economic crisis with
inflation close to 140% and a currency that has lost 42% in
value this year.
Oil companies YPF, Raizen, Trafigura
and Axion Energy in a joint statement on
Saturday said the supply will be normalized in the next few
days.
Among the factors causing the shortage, the companies cited
high demand, the presidential elections, the beginning of crop
planting and a higher than usual dependence on imports.
They also flagged “excessive demand caused by the
expectation of a shortage.”
The diesel supply is of special concern to farmers, who say
a shortage could impact the start of planting, key for the
country’s major soy and corn crops.