Government and Fuel Retailers Renew the Cap: Gasoline Below 24 and Diesel Below 27 Pesos

César Iván Escalante Ruiz, head of Mexico's Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco), announced on Monday, August 17 that the government and fuel retailers will renew the voluntary agreement keeping regular gasoline below 24 pesos per liter and diesel below 27 pesos. According to El CEO, 8 out of 10 stations are complying with the pact.

The pact forms part of the National Strategy to Promote the Stabilization of Regular Gasoline and Diesel Prices, signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo with sector representatives. The regular gasoline cap of 24 pesos per liter first took effect in March 2025 and has been renewed every six months, according to El CEO; the diesel cap began in April 2026, when the government and companies agreed to sustain it through reductions to the Special Tax on Production and Services (IEPS), according to Forbes México. The renewal prevents, for now, the rise in Brent crude from feeding directly into pump prices in Mexico, a key component of logistics and transport costs across the region.

The renewal signing is scheduled for this Thursday, August 20, and for the first time it will include the diesel cap in an official document (until now it had operated as a verbal agreement), according to El CEO. As of the close of August 17, national compliance with the regular gasoline cap stood at 87.1%, with an average price of 23.70 pesos per liter, and diesel compliance at 85.5%, with an average of 27.03 pesos, according to PetroIntelligence. Alejandro Montufar, director of the consultancy, explained that stations supplied by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) receive support through wholesale pricing, while those supplied via importers face greater difficulty staying within the agreed range. Some smaller-scale fuel retailers noted that the renewal was negotiated without their participation.

Following Thursday's signing, the public announcement of the renewal is expected next week, alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo. Compliance with the pact will hold as long as Pemex maintains the wholesale prices underpinning it, PetroIntelligence noted.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.