Country’s Petroleum Costs Nearly Double

COSTA Rica’s petroleum costsreached $659 million last Nov. 15, anamount almost double last year’s costs.According to the Central Bank, the rise isa consequence of the increase in petroleumprices on the international market.If current petroleum prices are maintainedwith no additional increases, it isestimated that petroleum purchases willamount to $710 million by the end of theyear.Costa Rica consumes an annual 16million barrels of petroleum.The increase in the price of petroleumresulted in a rise in the commercial deficitbalance and a considerable rise in businessproduction costs, according to theCentral Bank.Exports in goods and services throughOctober reached $5.26 billion and importsarrived at $6.9 billion, producing a 37%larger trade deficit compared to the sameperiod in 2003.