{"id":17982,"date":"2026-10-15T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=17982"},"modified":"2026-10-14T14:43:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T19:43:30","slug":"panama-shakes-but-fuel-prices-stay-put","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/business-economy\/panama-shakes-but-fuel-prices-stay-put\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Shakes, but Fuel Prices Stay Put"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Panama&#8217;s Energy Secretariat confirmed a new <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/business-economy\/port-operations-halt-in-4-panama-provinces-following-strong-earthquake\/\" rel=\"internal\">fuel price adjustment<\/a><\/strong> will take effect Friday, October 16, forcing consumers to absorb <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/topic\/energy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">higher diesel costs<\/a> just as the country begins recovering from a <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/politics-government\/rice-is-safe-but-panamas-dairy-production-is-in-crisis\/\" rel=\"internal\">severe earthquake<\/a>. The timing underscores how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/topics\/energy-security\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">global fuel volatility<\/a> continues to strain households already facing <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/politics-government\/panama-savings-fund-untouched-as-7-5-quake-costs-stay-below-legal-threshold\/\" rel=\"internal\">crisis conditions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the official schedule, 95-octane gasoline holds steady at 1.424 per liter. But low-sulfur diesel rises 0.01 cents to 1.52 per liter, while 91-octane gasoline drops 0.04 cents to 1.28 per liter. The changes apply nationwide starting Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Nuevos precios del combustible en Panam\u00e1: gasolina de 91 baja y di\u00e9sel sube este viernes\nhttps:\/\/t.co\/8O0lFb1VKP<\/p>&mdash; Telemetro (@Telemetro) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Telemetro\/status\/2110439272901656860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 14, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fuel Price Adjustment Details and Immediate Consumer Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The diesel increase, though modest on paper, compounds transportation and logistics costs across a country still assessing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/programs\/earthquake-hazards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">earthquake damage<\/a>. Diesel powers emergency generators, relief trucks, and reconstruction equipment. Any upward pressure on that fuel directly affects recovery timelines and the cost of basic goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For regular drivers, the 91-octane reduction offers slight relief at the pump. But analysts note that savings remain marginal against broader inflationary pressures. The 95-octane freeze means most urban commuters see no change in their weekly fuel spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"805\" src=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gasoline-1200x805-1.webp\" alt=\"GAS PRICES. By EXPAT.\" class=\"wp-image-16943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gasoline-1200x805-1.webp 1200w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gasoline-1200x805-1-150x101.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The timing underscores how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/topics\/energy-security\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">global fuel volatility<\/a> continues to strain households already facing <a href=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/politics-government\/panama-savings-fund-untouched-as-7-5-quake-costs-stay-below-legal-threshold\/\" rel=\"internal\">crisis conditions<\/a>. GAS PRICES. By Expat-Times.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Global Fuel Crisis Reaches Panamanian Households<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The price shifts arrive amid a prolonged global fuel crisis triggered by ongoing wars and supply chain disruptions. Crude markets have stayed volatile for months, with refining costs and distribution bottlenecks pushing retail prices higher across Latin America. Panama imports nearly all its refined fuels, leaving it exposed to international price swings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Energy officials emphasized that the adjustment reflects external market conditions, not domestic policy changes. The Secretariat&#8217;s pricing formula tracks regional benchmarks and currency fluctuations. Still, for families already stretched by earthquake recovery expenses, the timing feels particularly harsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/camino-destruido-a-mariato-1200x800-1.webp\" alt=\"Mariato Road damaged. Empowered by IA, Expat-Times\" class=\"wp-image-17919\" srcset=\"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/camino-destruido-a-mariato-1200x800-1.webp 1200w, https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/camino-destruido-a-mariato-1200x800-1-150x100.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The diesel increase, though modest on paper, compounds transportation and logistics costs across a country still assessing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/programs\/earthquake-hazards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">earthquake damage<\/a>. Mariato Road damaged. Empowered by IA, Expat-Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Earthquake Recovery Meets Rising Operational Costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The earthquake that struck days before this announcement damaged infrastructure in several provinces. Repair crews now face higher diesel bills for heavy machinery and transport. Local businesses relying on backup generators will also see operating costs climb slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Relief organizations have flagged fuel access as a critical concern. Any sustained increase in diesel prices could slow the delivery of water, food, and medical supplies to affected communities. Municipal governments are monitoring the situation closely as they allocate emergency budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, the modest price changes mask a deeper vulnerability. Panama&#8217;s dependence on imported fuel means external shocks, whether seismic or geopolitical, land quickly on consumers. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energia.gob.pa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Energy Secretariat<\/a> said it will continue monitoring global markets and adjust prices accordingly in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DefBql9lNxX\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DefBql9lNxX\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">Ver esta publicaci\u00f3n en Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DefBql9lNxX\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Una publicaci\u00f3n compartida por Telemetro Reporta (@treporta)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Panama&#8217;s Energy Secretariat confirmed a new fuel price adjustment will take effect Friday, October 16, forcing consumers to absorb higher diesel costs just as the country begins recovering from a severe earthquake. The timing underscores how global fuel volatility continues to strain households already facing crisis conditions. Under the official schedule, 95-octane gasoline holds steady<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,87,35],"tags":[7026,7492,148,50,7491],"class_list":["post-17982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business-economy","category-featured","category-travel-transportation-tourism","tag-diesel","tag-earthquake-recovery-costs","tag-fuel-prices","tag-panama","tag-panama-diesel-prices"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17982"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17983,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17982\/revisions\/17983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}