MORE than a month after their last price hike, Mobil Oil Marianas and Shell Marianas on Friday raised their prices by 10 cents.
The regular gas price went up to $4.729 a gallon from $4.629 a gallon; the premium gas price increased to $5.179 a gallon from $5 a gallon; and diesel is now $4.78 a gallon from $4.68 a gallon.
The last time Mobil and Shell raised their prices was on May 7 and May 8, 2021, respectively.
The new regular gas price of $4.729 a gallon is the highest on island since the price rose to $4.90 per gallon following Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018.
In March 2020, amid the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the price of regular gas per gallon went down to $3.63.
“Lucky” for him, Dino Mettao on Saturday said he hardly uses his 2003 Nissan Altima V6, which, he added, eats up a lot of gas.
A former employee of a private security firm, Mettao said he doesn’t drive a lot these days because he no longer has a job. Right now, he added, he makes a living by catching fish.
But he said any fuel price increase is not good because it may also cause an increase in prices of basic commodities.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that gas prices were rising across the nation as a whole.
According to AP, analysts say gas demand dropped and total domestic gas stocks increased, but the increasing price of crude pushed prices up. “They say if domestic crude prices remain high, drivers will likely see fluctuating gas prices through the end of the month,” AP added.
Mobil’s gas station in Kagman displays the new fuel prices on Friday.
