By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
FUEL prices went down by 10 cents on Wednesday and Thursday after last month’s rollback was cancelled by a hike earlier this month.
Mobil Oil lowered its regular gasoline price to $5.06 a gallon from $5.16 a gallon, its premium gasoline to $5.51 a gallon from $5.61 a gallon, and diesel to $5.48 a gallon from $5.58 a gallon on Wednesday afternoon.
Shell adjusted its fuel prices on the morning of Thanksgiving Day.
On Tinian, Tinian Fuel Services’ gasoline price on Thursday was $7.15 a gallon, and diesel was $7.73 a gallon.
On Rota, Calvo Enterprises’ gasoline price on Thursday was $6.54 a gallon, and diesel was $9.12 a gallon.
Local fisherman Lino Tenorio, in an interview at the Mobil Oil station in Chalan Kiya, said it does not really bother him whether gasoline prices go up or down because, “I’m used to gassing up even if it’s expensive or the price is low. My concentration is making sure I recover my fuel cost every time I go out.”
Tenorio said that just fishing around the island, he buys 25 to 30 gallons of gasoline for his boat daily, with each refueling costing between $100 and $120. “That’s only for fishing around Saipan. If I go farther, like [to] remote reefs around the other islands such as Rota or Mendenilla, it would cost me $250 just for regular gas,” he said.
He added that the catch is not good every day. “However, my style of fishing is different from the rest because when I go out, I make it a point to recover my fuel expenses,” Tenorio said.
Expectations
Reuters reported on Thursday that oil prices fell on “expectations of a Ukraine‑Russia ceasefire which could pave the way for the unwinding of Western sanctions against Russian supply, though trading was set to remain thin due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.”
Brent crude futures shed 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.92 a barrel as of 0108 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 21 cents, or 0.4%, to $58.44 a barrel, Reuters reported.
“Both contracts settled about 1% higher on Wednesday as investors assessed oversupply risk and the prospect of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.”
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
