SANTO DOMINGO — Amid ongoing volatility in global energy markets, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MICM) has announced a major government subsidy package totaling RD$1.435 billion to stabilize critical fuel prices for consumers between May 16 and 22.
The subsidy initiative is designed to keep retail prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fully frozen, while partially offsetting upward price adjustments for gasoline and diesel that have become unavoidable due to rising global crude costs. Officials explained that West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the key benchmark against which Dominican fuel prices are set, has climbed by roughly $4 per barrel in its most recent trading session, pushing the global benchmark close to the $105 per barrel mark. This jump represents a 3.86% increase in WTI prices, extending a period of persistent elevated international energy costs that has put upward pressure on retail fuel prices across the country.
Against this market backdrop, official price adjustments will go into effect for four widely consumed transportation fuels: premium grade gasoline, regular grade gasoline, regular diesel, and premium diesel. All four product categories will see measurable increases to their per-gallon retail prices for the week.
In a rare offsetting trend, a handful of specialized fuel products primarily used by commercial and industrial sectors will see slight price reductions over the same seven-day window. These include aviation turbine fuel (Avtur), kerosene, Fuel Oil #1, and Fuel Oil #6. The mixed price movement across different fuel categories underscores the uneven impact of current global crude market shifts across segments of the Dominican energy economy.