The values reflect an increase of 241% in four months, in contrast to salaries, which are increasingly losing value in relation to the inflation that currently exists in the country. The AMBA public services basket went from representing the 6% of an average salary of a formal employee to 13% this month.
The AMBA public services basket includes the consumption of electric energy, drinking water, natural gas and public transportation: it happened to cost $30,100 in December to $102,779 in April. These values were reported by the Tariffs and Subsidies Observatory at the Interdisciplinary Institute of Economics (IIEP), which depends on the UBA and Conicet.
He 410% increase in bus fare in AMBA caused the minimum rate of $52.96 in December go to $270 in February, as part of a price regularization by the Government, in the search for financial balance. Besides, the eliminates subsidies on gas and electricity, along with a 209% increase in water on the AYSA ballot, caused a strong impact on the pocket of the inhabitants of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.
Electricity, gas, water and transportation: a family needed more than $100,000 to cover service fees in April
Of all the services, the one that increased the most was natural gas with an advance of 561% compared to December 2023, while spending on Transportation increased 410%, water 209% and electricity 74%.
With these values, in April, AMBA’s basket of public services occupies 13% of the average recorded salary for the month At the same time, the most important weight within the services is occupied by transportation expense.
It should be noted that the price of transportation will continue to rise. For April a ticket increase of collectives and trainsalthough the Government decided to postpone the increases so that they do not impact inflation and they are still analyzing whether they will be updated again in May or it will be postponed again. Meanwhile, the cost of subway It must also be increased in the fifth month of the year, if the public hearing scheduled for April 25 is actually carried out.
What services have financial subsidies?
The Economic subsidies for Water, Energy and Transportation suffered a real drop of 59.5% in March compared to the previous year, explained by the growth of 52.3% p.a..
In the first quarter, it accumulated an execution of 23% with respect to the current credit for the selected items.
The Energy subsidieswhich represent the 61% of total subsidies, they were reduced by 67.4% real year on year in the first quarter after growing 23.6% nominal year on year. The transfers accrued from Energía Argentina SA (ENARSA) accumulated increased 39.9% nominal year-on-year (-62.9% real year-on-year). In turn, the transfers to CAMMESA increased nominally 11.5% a year while reduced 70.8% year-on-year. in real terms.
Meanwhile, the transfers through the Gas.Ar Plan (incentives for natural gas production) were reduced 35.8% YoY (-82.5% in real terms).
On the other hand, the Transport It explains 39% of the transfers and grew 151.7% a year in nominal terms, which is equivalent to a reduction of 32.7% a year in real terms. Within it, the most relevant item is the Transportation Infrastructure System Trust Fund (FFSIT) increased 211.6% pa in nominal terms, which is equivalent to a real fall of -17.6% pa in the first quarter of 2024.
Source: Ambito
