Panama Diesel Hits US$5.82 a Gallon, Up 101%
PANAMA · FUEL PRICES
Key Facts
- The country Panama imports all its fuel, caps pump prices every 14 days and uses the US dollar.
- Why it matters Diesel feeds into food, freight and farm costs, so its price weighs on living costs nationwide.
- Why now New maximum prices apply from 6:00 a.m. on Friday 30 October until 13 November.
- What happened Diesel rises 2.1 cents a litre to US$1.537 while 95-octane gasoline falls 9.7 cents to US$1.324.
- What it means for you Panama City and Colón drivers pay at most about US$5.01 a gallon for 95-octane, US$5.82 for diesel.
- Power Index Panama ranks 11th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 34.2 points (October 2026 edition).
In Plain English
Panama sets a maximum retail price for each fuel every 14 days, and stations may charge less but not more. The National Energy Secretariat, known as the SNE, publishes the prices in US dollars per litre.
Panama’s maximum pump price for diesel rises to US$1.537 a litre, about US$5.82 a gallon, from Friday, 30 October, which is double the US$0.763 a litre it cost in early January. In the same reset the maximum for 95-octane gasoline falls 9.7 cents a litre to US$1.324, or about US$5.01 a gallon.
The National Energy Secretariat set the prices in a release dated Wednesday, 28 October, and they apply from 6:00 a.m. on Friday, 30 October to 5:59 a.m. on Friday, 13 November. The figures are the Panama City and Colón reference, and the ceiling rises with distance, reaching US$1.588 a litre for diesel in Changuinola.
For US readers the prices are already in dollars, because the balboa is pegged one-to-one to the US dollar, and the secretariat said in October 2025 that its reference prices follow finished-fuel quotes on the US Gulf Coast. Panama’s temporary support for chosen transport sectors is explained in the report on its fuel subsidy caps.
The New Maximum Prices
In Panama City and Colón the ceiling is US$1.324 a litre for 95-octane gasoline, US$1.189 for 91-octane and US$1.537 for low-sulfur diesel. Using the secretariat’s own factor of 3.785 litres to the gallon, that works out to about US$5.01, US$4.50 and US$5.82.
Against the previous two-week period, 95-octane fell 9.7 cents a litre, 91-octane fell 9.0 cents and diesel rose 2.1 cents. The secretariat said the gasoline decline passes straight to consumers, while diesel shows an upward trend.
Diesel Is Double Its January Price
On 9 January the secretariat’s national reference for diesel was US$0.763 a litre, about US$2.89 a gallon, against US$1.537 now, a rise of 101%. Over the same stretch 95-octane gasoline went from US$0.840 to US$1.324, up 58%, and 91-octane from US$0.782 to US$1.189, up 52%.
Compared with the fortnight that began on 31 October 2025, diesel is up 89% from US$0.814 a litre, or about US$3.08 a gallon, and 95-octane is up 56% from US$0.848. Both comparisons use the secretariat’s Panama City and Colón reference.
The finance ministry described the cause in April as a global energy crisis associated with the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the secretariat pointed to Middle East tensions in its release of 30 September. West Texas Intermediate, the US crude benchmark, averaged US$82.2 a barrel from January to July against US$67.6 a year earlier, the ministry’s July economic report shows.
What Is Behind the Increase
Panama imports all the fuel it uses, so pump prices follow what it costs to buy fuel abroad and bring it home, plus transport, operating costs and taxes, the secretariat explained in January. The finance ministry says the January to July import bill for diesel, jet fuel and the two gasolines reached US$1,873.2 million, US$571.3 million more than a year earlier.
What It Does to Consumer Prices
Consumer prices rose 2.8% in the year to September and 0.5% in the month, according to the national statistics institute INEC, which belongs to the Comptroller General’s office. The transport division rose 11.2% from a year earlier, and fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles rose 5.5% in September alone because of higher diesel, gasoline and lubricant prices.
A finance ministry release of 3 September put cumulative inflation through July at 1.5%, below the 3.5% the ministry had feared in a severe oil shock. It added that inflation has several causes and that the fuel subsidy alone does not explain its path.
How the Fuel Subsidy Works
Cabinet Resolution 20 of 2026, dated 31 March, authorizes up to US$100 million to stabilize part of the price of 91-octane and 95-octane gasoline and low-sulfur diesel. The support is temporary and aimed at public transport, school transport, cargo transport, farm machinery and artisanal fishing rather than at drivers in general.
By the end of July the program had spent US$32.3 million, concentrated in taxis, collective transport and vehicles that carry basic goods. In early September the Assembly’s budget commission approved a US$26.3 million transfer to it.
What It Means for You
Visitors who rent a car in Panama City or Colón pay at most about US$5.01 a gallon for 95-octane gasoline and US$4.50 for 91-octane, with ceilings a few cents a litre higher in provincial towns. Drivers of diesel pickups and vans pay up to about US$5.82, the highest of the three fuels.
Shippers that move goods by truck inside Panama face diesel at double its January price, and the next reset is due at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, 13 November. American Gulf Coast quotes sit behind the formula, so moves in US fuel markets feed into each new reset, and more country coverage is in the Panama section.
What Is Not Known
Where prices go on 13 November is not known, because the maximums follow international quotes that change daily. The last two resets raised diesel and cut gasoline, but the secretariat has not said how long that gap will last.
It is not clear how much of the US$100 million ceiling remains, since the latest spending figure in the ministry’s releases is US$32.3 million at the end of July. Nor is it known how much of the diesel increase will reach food prices, because the ministry says inflation has several causes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is diesel per gallon in Panama?
The maximum for low-sulfur diesel in Panama City and Colón is US$1.537 a litre, or about US$5.82 a gallon, from 30 October to 13 November. Prices are a few cents a litre higher in provincial towns.
How much is gasoline in Panama in US dollars?
In Panama City and Colón the maximum is US$1.324 a litre (about US$5.01 a gallon) for 95-octane and US$1.189 (about US$4.50) for 91-octane. Both fell, by 9.7 and 9.0 cents a litre.
How often does Panama change fuel prices?
The National Energy Secretariat resets maximum prices every 14 days, with new prices starting at 6:00 a.m. on a Friday. The next reset is due at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, 13 November.
Does Panama subsidize fuel for ordinary drivers?
The government’s temporary price stabilization of up to US$100 million is aimed at public transport, cargo transport, farm machinery and artisanal fishing, not at drivers in general. Ordinary drivers pay the maximum prices listed in this report.
Sources: National Energy Secretariat, fuel prices from 30 October to 13 November 2026, release of 28 October 2026; National Energy Secretariat, fuel prices from 9 to 23 January 2026, release of 7 January 2026; National Energy Secretariat, fuel prices from 31 October 2025, release of 29 October 2025; National Energy Secretariat, fuel prices from 2 to 16 October 2026, release of 30 September 2026; Ministry of Economy and Finance, oil prices and fuel import bill, 13 October 2026; Ministry of Economy and Finance, fuel stabilization funds, 3 September 2026; Ministry of Economy and Finance, fuel subsidy program, 16 April 2026; National Statistics Institute INEC, consumer price index for September 2026, 14 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief