The Mobil Oil station on Beach Road in Garapan displays its new gasoline prices on Tuesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
SIX days after the previous price hike, fuel prices increased again by 10 cents on Tuesday amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran.
On Saipan, Mobil Oil’s regular gasoline rose to $5.26 per gallon from $5.16, while premium gasoline increased to $5.71 from $5.61. Diesel, which had remained unchanged for two months, also went up — rising to $5.43 from $5.28 per gallon.
Shell Marianas is expected to follow suit.
On Tinian, the price of regular gasoline at Tinian Fuel Services as of Thursday was $7.13 per gallon, while diesel was $7.40.
On Rota, Calvo Enterprises’ regular gasoline increased to $6.54 per gallon from $6.44, but the diesel price dropped to $9.12 from $9.22 per gallon.
Rep. Vincent S. “Kobre” Aldan, who chairs the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation, and Communications, said the public should brace for further fuel price increases. He likened the situation to the 1990 Gulf War, when oil prices soared.
“Because of what’s going on in the Middle East now, fuel prices will go up,” he said.
He also expects the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s power rate to rise. “Everything — even the prices of basic commodities — will go up because they all depend on fuel. The world’s economy depends on oil,” Aldan said.
According to Reuters, oil prices “climbed on Tuesday on concerns the Iran-Israel conflict may intensify, raising the risk of further unrest and the potential disruption of oil supply from the key Middle East producing region.”
