Abinader announces fuel prices will remain unchanged through January 7

Santo Domingo – Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has formally rolled out an unprecedented long-term fuel price stabilization policy that will lock current domestic retail fuel rates in place through January 7, 2027, contingent on weekly government subsidy outlays not surpassing RD$1.5 billion. The landmark policy was unveiled shortly after an extended, high-level session of the national Price Committee convened at the National Palace, where senior economic, energy, and finance officials conducted a full review of ongoing global market volatility, cascading ripple effects from international energy supply chain disruptions, and the downstream risks that rising global oil and refined product costs pose to local consumer affordability. The core objective of the new regulatory framework is to create a robust protective buffer for millions of Dominican households and small businesses against the wild, unpredictable swings that have roiled global petroleum markets in recent years, with targeted public funds absorbing any gap between imported fuel costs and frozen domestic retail rates rather than passing unmanageable price hikes on to end users. Administration economic advisors note that the policy will be paired with continuous real-time monitoring of global energy price trajectories, as well as broader macroeconomic indicators, to ensure the capped weekly subsidy threshold remains fiscally sustainable without triggering unintended inflationary pressures across other segments of the national economy. The announcement arrives at a moment of sustained upward pressure on global crude and refined fuel benchmarks, driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions in key oil producing regions and tight global supply balances that have pushed many neighboring Caribbean nations to implement repeated, painful domestic fuel price hikes in recent months. The government has emphasized that the measure is designed to insulate household disposable incomes, keep transportation and food distribution costs stable, and support steady post-pandemic economic recovery across the Dominican Republic for the next three years. The announcement was first circulated via official presidential channels and is tracked as a developing policy update by DominicanScope.