MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Sol won't mimic Shell, Esso hikes in Argentina.

State-run Uruguayan oil company Sol Petroleo on Saturday rolled back the price hikes it had imposed on fuel sold in Argentina, following Shell and Esso's example, a few hours earlier.

According to official spokesman yesterday, Uruguayan President Tabaré Vazquez's government decided to revoke the hikes after the Argentine government announced it was considering imposing "sanctions" on oil companies that raised their prices.

Vazquez's administration decided to rescind the increases as part of the "cooperation" agreement between the countries, Sol spokesmen said.

Sol had followed the United States' Esso in matching the hikes Anglo-Dutch Shell announced Wednesday, prompting Argentine President Nestor Kirchner to call for a nationwide boycott against the company and associations of the unemployed to block access to Shell gas stations.

Sol's increases, which barely lasted a few hours, ranged between 2 and 4 percent, while Esso's, already in effect, and range between 2.1 and 3.5 percent.

Earlier Saturday, Spain's Repsol YPF had joined Brazil's Petrobras in reaffirming it would not raise fuel prices.

On Wednesday, Shell announced it would raise fuel prices 2.6 to 4.2 percent, "strictly in response to global market factors."

In a communiqué Saturday, Esso said their own price hikes, which "are being implemented after holding down prices for more than seven months," were based strictly on the impact of global market forces and the price of crude, which is nearing a record high.