Mexico's Treasury Reinstates 4% Premium Gasoline Subsidy; Price Cap Extended to 2027

Mexico's Finance Ministry (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público) reinstated the fiscal incentive for premium gasoline, from 0 to 4% per liter, equivalent to 0.2 pesos, for the period August 22 to 28, 2026, according to Bloomberg Línea, citing the afternoon edition of the Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación, DOF). The Ministry had kept premium gasoline without fiscal support for just one week.

The incentive was published one day after the Ministry of Energy (SENER) renewed for six months the voluntary agreement with fuel station operators to maintain price caps on regular gasoline and diesel at 24 and below 27 pesos per liter, respectively. According to El Financiero, the agreement sets a horizon through February 2027 and will be formalized in a ceremony attended by President Claudia Sheinbaum. The regular gasoline price stabilization agreement dates to February 2025, with subsequent renewals; the diesel cap was added in spring 2026, when the fuel rose from levels near 26.5 to around 30 pesos per liter. As of the end of July, 85.8% of stations were selling diesel at 27 pesos or below, El Financiero reported.

The subsidies are deducted from the Special Tax on Production and Services (Impuesto Especial sobre Producción y Servicios, IEPS), the levy the tax authority charges on each liter of fuel sold. For regular gasoline, the incentive rose from 16 to 22%, equivalent to 1.5 pesos per liter; for diesel, the support stood at 82%, equivalent to 6 pesos per liter. The fuel market remains under pressure from the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of global crude trade flows. As of August 17, the national average price of regular gasoline stood at 23.68 pesos per liter, below the reference ceiling, according to a PETROIntelligence report.

The price cap remains in effect through February 2027, with working groups focused on regulatory simplification and logistics strengthening. The premium gasoline incentive, published weekly in the DOF, is the key variable to watch: the Ministry suspended it for one week and its level is recalculated in line with movements in international crude prices.

This article was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.