El Salvador paid $300 million more for its oil bill

El Salvador paid almost $300 million last year for its petroleum imports, whose price reflected increases in world markets.

Last year's bill came to $1.7 billion, up from $1.4 billion in 2017, according to the central bank.

The 2018 amount was the biggest in three years. Following the reductions reported in 2014 and 2015, the prices of fuels in world markets surged in 2016 and 2017.