(Bloomberg) -- Mexico suspended gasoline subsidies for states along its northern border as the Finance Ministry said U.S. citizens crossing into the country are draining supply.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. are higher than Mexico, which has led U.S. citizens to head south and stock up on fuel, according to a statement from Mexico's Finance Ministry. That's led to reports of shortages, according to the ministry.
Global oil prices have surged since Russia invaded Ukraine. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez has pledged to cut exports and increase oil refining in a bid to make the country energy self-sufficient, but the rise in prices has led AMLO, as the president is known, to adjust that message.
AMLO has said state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos could keep exporting crude to take advantage of high prices and use that cash to provide relief to consumers. In a preliminary budget draft delivered to lawmakers Friday, the Finance Ministry saw crude exports at 879,000 barrels a day this year and 764,000 barrels in 2023.
Read more: AMLO Says Mexico to Refine Less Crude and Export More on Rally
AMLO's energy policy has been a nationalist one -- consolidating control around state companies -- and a Finance Ministry statement on limiting a fiscal stimulus that could be taken advantage of by foreigners fits into that idea. The suspension on the stimulus will be effective through April 8 in municipalities in Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.
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