Cuba to implement five-fold hike in price of 94-octane gasoline on Feb. 1

Cuba will hike the retail price of its 94 octane gasoline from 30 to 156 pesos per liter beginning February 1, a five-fold increase the communist-run government says is necessary to assure fuel supplies amid a festering economic crisis, the minister of finances and prices said on Monday.

The country will also open 29 gas stations that will sell gasoline exclusively in dollars, another measure aimed at raising foreign currency to purchase fuel on the international market, Finance and Price Minister Vladimir Regueiro said.