Mexico President offers Americans to go to Mexico for cheaper gas
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Mexico is offering the citizens of the United States to cross the border for cheaper gas in light of the rampant inflation the US is facing.
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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, June 20, 2022 (Reuters)
Americans who live close to the US-Mexico border can come into Mexico and purchase gasoline at lower prices than they are sold in the United States, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday.
"Since the energy crisis started, Mexico has used 72 percent of its crude oil exports to the United States," Obrador said.
"While we're waiting for prices or gasoline to go down in the United States, we have decided that it was necessary for us to allow Americans who live close to the border to go and get their gasoline on the Mexican side at lower prices," Obrador added.
The Mexican president's words came ahead of his bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House.
The United States has been undergoing rampant inflation for months now.
Over the past months, the United States has been experiencing accelerating inflation, which the Biden administration has dubbed "Putin's price hike" and blamed on many additional factors.
On June 30, the US government released data that showed price increases that had held steady in the past 12 months ended in May, while the rise in consumer spending slowed sharply.
This, according to some, may comfort consumers as a sign that the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate plans are beginning to have an effect in limiting the fastest uptick in inflation seen in more than four decades.
Compared to May 2021, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 6.3%, the same pace as in the prior month, despite it rising 0.6% compared to April, according to the Commerce Department.
This monthly increase, which was faster than in the preceding month, was still below economist projections. As for US multinationals, the quick rise in the value of the US dollar since the beginning of the year is a double-edged sword, forcing them to determine whether to hedge or move their operations abroad to prevent damage.
The obstacles faced by the US economy this year range from renewed Covid-19 lockdowns in China, rising food and energy prices, the central bank combating high inflation by increasing borrowing costs, and the decisive factor being the war in Ukraine.
Economists at Barclays envisioned a 2.2% growth for the US economy this year, followed by a 1.1% growth in 2023.
US President Biden has been blaming his domestic inflation on Russia at a time when it has been pushing for West-led sanctions on Russian oil, which is sinking the world into further crises.
