MOBIL Oil Marianas on Wednesday reduced its gasoline prices by 10 cents a gallon and diesel price by 20 cents a gallon. Shell Marianas is expected to follow suit.
This is the third price rollback this month, and the ninth since July.
The price of regular gas dropped to $5.16 a gallon from $5.26 a gallon; premium gas price to $5.61 a gallon from $5.71 a gallon; and diesel price to $6.28 a gallon from $6.48 a gallon.
On Rota, Calvo Enterprises cashier Evelyn Ababa said that they had received a notice from Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc. regarding the 10-cent rollback. She added they will implement the rollback today, Thursday, Sept. 29.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the fuel prices on Rota were $6.74 for a gallon of regular gas and $10.22 for a gallon of diesel.
Ababa said a Mobil Oil tanker arrives on Rota twice a week to deliver fuel. It is the same tanker that delivers fuel to Guam, Chuuk, Yap and the other Micronesian islands, she said.
She said the amount of fuel they buy from the supplier depends on their sales.
On Tinian, the regular gas price as of Wednesday was still $7.05 a gallon while diesel still cost $8.40 a gallon.
On Saipan, community volunteer Max Aguon said he hopes the price rollbacks will continue. He added that these will allow people to spend more on other basic commodities such as food.
Reuters reported that “oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, pressured by a strengthening dollar and crude storage builds that offset support from U.S. production cuts caused by Hurricane Ian.”
According to Reuters, the dollar “hit a fresh two-decade peak against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as rising global interest rates fed recession concerns. A strong dollar reduces demand for oil by making it more expensive for buyers using other currencies.”
The Mobil Oil station on Beach Road in Garapan displays its new prices Wednesday.
