Gasoline and diesel prices in Panama today

Fuel prices in Panama are regulated by the National Energy Secretariat (SNE), created by Law 8 of 1994. Every 14 days the SNE publishes maximum retail prices that take effect the following Friday at 6:00 a.m. and apply until the next bulletin.

Prices are expressed in balboas per liter (1 B/. = 1 USD) and set by geographic zone: Panama and Colón carry the base price and the interior pays a transport surcharge. A station may charge less than the maximum, never more.

The calculation starts from refined gasoline and diesel prices on the US Gulf Coast (EIA benchmark), plus freight, insurance, the consumption tax and the approved margins for importers, distributors and stations. When oil rises in New York, it shows at the pump in the next bulletin.

Ten years of prices: lows, highs and the normal range

In one decade Panama saw the lowest and the highest gasoline prices of its modern history. The low came in April 2020: with the COVID-19 lockdown global oil demand collapsed, WTI traded negative and gasoline 95 fell to B/.0.47 per liter. The high came in June 2022: the war in Ukraine, OPEC+ cuts and the post-pandemic recovery pushed WTI above $120 per barrel and gasoline 95 to B/.1.59 per liter, almost $80 for a 50-liter tank.

Between those extremes, 2023 and 2024 moved in a B/.1.10 to B/.1.35 range, and 2025 and 2026 between B/.0.85 and B/.1.30. On March 6, 2026 the SNE applied the largest single cut since 2020 (B/.0.188 less per liter, down to B/.0.948) and two weeks later the fastest rebound (+20.7 %) as WTI went from $58 to $65 per barrel.

In perspective: today's gasoline 95 price (B/.1.279/L) is 44 % above the 2016 to 2026 average (B/.0.89/L) and 20 % below the 2022 peak. The modern range seems settled between B/.0.85 and B/.1.35 per liter.

WTI and the two-week lag

Panama produces no crude and refines no meaningful volume: it imports finished gasoline and diesel, mostly from US Gulf Coast and Caribbean ports. WTI is the benchmark that matters most, although each product's refining margin (the crack spread) also moves the final price.

The SNE calculates the maximum from the CIF cost (cost, insurance and freight) at Panamanian Atlantic ports. A $10 per barrel move in WTI usually passes through as 7 to 12 cents per liter of gasoline 95, with a one to two week lag because of the bulletin calendar. Import contracts smooth the spikes: a sudden jump in crude reaches the pump gradually in the next cycle.

Gasoline 91 or 95: what your owner's manual says

Octane measures how well fuel resists igniting early inside the cylinder. A high-compression or turbo engine needs more octane; a conventional one does not. Rule of thumb: if the manual says 91 minimum, use 91 and save B/.0.085 per liter for nothing in return. If it says 95 recommended, use 95: on 91 the engine computer retards ignition and you lose power. If it says 95 required, running 91 consistently can damage the engine over time.

The most common models in Panama (Toyota Corolla and Hilux, Honda Civic, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage) are designed for 91. High-end European cars, sports cars and many premium SUVs call for 95 or more.

Why diesel matters even if you never buy it

Today diesel costs B/.1.400 per liter, above gasoline 95 (B/.1.279). Diesel used to be the cheap fuel; since 2021 the relationship has flipped in several periods for three reasons: the IMO 2020 maritime rule boosted demand for middle distillates, refiners did not add capacity in time and the war in Ukraine cut off the Russian diesel that supplied Europe.

Diesel powers freight trucks, the Metrobús and intercity routes, construction machinery and the tugs and locomotives of the Panama Canal. Around 80 % of consumer goods arrive by truck: when diesel rises 10 cents per liter, a typical 20-ton haul from Colón to Santiago costs $5 to $10 more, and that cost spreads across hundreds of products on the shelf.

Is gasoline expensive in Panama? A regional comparison

In Central America Panama usually sits below Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala, which tax fuel more heavily, and close to El Salvador. Colombia sits below because it subsidizes part of the price through the FEPC fund, although that subsidy shrinks year by year. Mexico combines the IEPS tax with fiscal stimulus, so the gap changes week to week.

Against Venezuela or Bolivia, with artificially low prices from massive subsidies, Panama looks expensive; against Europe, where a liter often exceeds 1.50 euros with taxes, it looks cheap. Panama produces no oil, so a structural subsidy is not an option: the maximum-price system is the only mechanism, and it passes through both rises and falls in WTI. The regional table on this page compares regular gasoline in dollars per liter.

Seven habits that cut your fuel bill

With gasoline 91 at B/.1.194 per liter, a 50-liter tank costs B/.59.70. Small habit changes are worth $20 to $50 a month.

1. Check tire pressure weekly. Underinflated tires raise consumption by up to 3 %; Panama's heat speeds up the loss.
2. Avoid peak hours (7 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m.). Traffic on Corredor Sur, Vía España and Tumba Muerto can double consumption.
3. Use 91 if your manual allows it. The gap is B/.0.085 per liter, B/.4.25 per 50-liter tank.
4. Keep the engine tuned. A poorly tuned engine burns up to 15 % more; humidity wears out filters and spark plugs faster.
5. Do not idle. Idling burns 0.6 to 0.8 liters per hour; if you will wait more than three minutes, switch off.
6. Use the air conditioning wisely. In the city it adds 10 to 15 % to consumption; on the highway it beats open windows.
7. Compare stations. The SNE sets a maximum, not a single price: on Vía Tocumen, the Transístmica or in La Chorrera paying one to three cents less is common.

Where to check the price: the SNE, this page and the apps

The only source with legal force is the National Energy Secretariat bulletin at energia.gob.pa: no station may charge more than what it lists. Its website offers no structured history or context, and bulletins are usually published as images.

revisa24 reads each bulletin, verifies the values and presents them with the change versus the previous period, the history, the table by zone, the tank calculator and a forecast based on the EIA Gulf Coast benchmark, in Spanish and English. International aggregators such as GlobalPetrolPrices help compare countries but lag one to four weeks and do not separate 91 from 95. User-reported price apps help find stations below the maximum in the city, with thin coverage in the interior.

energia.gob.pa