President Hipólito Mejia said that he would not be able to resolve the propane gas impasse until next week. Mejia announced that effective Wednesday, February 7th, the cost of a gallon of propane gas would be RD$8, the price on the day he took office last August 16th. His government had raised the price to RD$19. Nevertheless, gas distributors refused to sell the propane at the new price until the gas they had purchased at the old price was exhausted. Mejia admitted that when the price reduction was announced, the government had not anticipated the need for an administrative mechanism to differentiate between propane gas for domestic use and transportation or industrial use. He asked for a week to straighten out the matter.
