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Mexico: Watchdog reveals new LPG probe

By  |  February 25, 2018

Mexico’s competition watchdog has been investigating the country’s liquefied petroleum (LP) gas industry since last summer after a complaint from the country’s Energy Regulatory Commission, the antitrust enforcer revealed on Friday,February 23.

The investigation seeks to determine wheter collusion to fix prices took place between suppliers of LP gas.

The Investigative Authority explained that the market for LP gas is relevant given that it is used by more than 90 million Mexicans. Additionally, families allocate, on average, 4.4% of their total budget to the purchase of gas and electricity for their homes. This fuel is also fundamental for commerce, industry and service sectors such as for food preparation, the hotel industry and transportation, among others. As a result of the energy reform, the public prices of this fuel were freed in January 2017, which implies that the price paid by consumer should be determined by supply and demand.

The timeframe for this investigation is 120 business days, from August 24, 2017, the day the investigation initiated, which may be extended for up to four additional periods.

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