FUEL prices have increased for the third time this year.
The Shell Marianas in Gualo Rai Middle Road displays its fuel prices Wednesday morning.
The regular gasoline price on Saipan went up 15 cents to $5.26 a gallon from $5.11 a gallon; premium gas price is now $5.71 a gallon from $5.56 a gallon; and diesel is now $5.58 a gallon from $5.38 a gallon.
Mobil Oil Marianas and Shell Marianas raised their prices on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
On Tinian, the regular gas price is now $6.99 a gallon while diesel now costs $8.72 a gallon.
Mobil Oil on Rota had not raised its prices as of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, but was expected to increase them anytime soon. Its regular gas price on Wednesday was still $6.59 a gallon while diesel cost $8.92 a gallon.
According to Masirul Mollah, an electrician, the continuous price hikes are “hurting” the people’s pockets. “It affects my life. I drive my car everywhere I go. And when gas price goes up, utility cost goes up, too, and also the prices of commodities in the store,” said Mollah who drives an old Toyota Hi-Lux, which he said consumes $50 worth of gas in two to three days.
Skep Palacios, a former government employee, said this latest gas price increase will compel him to manage well his everyday errands. As much as possible, he said he will limit his driving every day.
The New York Times on Tuesday reported that “geopolitical tensions and a growing disparity between supply and demand have driven up [oil] prices…casting a shadow over the economy, driving up inflation and eroding consumer confidence.”
The Times added, “Crude prices rose more than 15 percent in January alone, with the global benchmark price crossing $90 a barrel for the first time in more than seven years, as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine grew.”
