Mobil Oil Marianas on Beach Road in Garapan displays its new fuel prices.
TWO months after a 10-cent rollback, Mobil Oil Marianas and Shell Marianas increased their fuel prices on Saturday.
On Saipan, the regular gas price rose to $5.26 per gallon from $5.16; premium gas climbed to $5.71 per gallon from $5.61; and diesel increased to $5.38 per gallon from $5.33.
On Tinian, the regular gas price of Tinian Fuel Services as of Sunday was $7.08 a gallon while its diesel price was $7.42 a gallon.
On Rota, Calvo Enterprises’ regular gas price was $6.54 a gallon while the diesel price was $9.97 a gallon.
“This will increase my expenses again,” said Aizel Lumanlad, a car rental agent, who also works part-time as a restaurant service crewmember on Saipan. She said she spends $140 a month on gasoline because she travels from Garapan to the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport in Dandan every day.
The price hike, she said, is “not good because the salary is not going up, only the cost of living.”
Global prices
Reuters reported on Wednesday that oil prices settled more than $1 higher after the European Union agreed to an additional round of sanctions threatening Russian oil flows that could tighten global crude supplies.
“Brent crude futures settled up $1.33, or 1.84%, to $73.52 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.70, or 2.48%, to $70.29,” Reuters said.
Investors were also anticipating a rise in Chinese demand for oil following Beijing’s latest plans to boost economic growth, Reuters added.
“Chinese crude imports … grew annually for the first time in seven months in November, up more than 14% from a year earlier,” Reuters stated.
