Pump prices have risen for the second time this week and third time this month.
The latest jump – the 12th consecutive increase since last July – was sparked when oil giant Shell upped petrol prices by five cents a litre and diesel by seven cents at 5pm on Thursday. ExxonMobil and Caltex matched the move six hours later.
Singapore Petroleum Company was the latest to adjust its rates, at 10am yesterday.
The price spikes have come on the back of ever-soaring crude oil prices, which hit US$135 (S$184) a barrel this week. Some analysts predict oil could reach US$200 a barrel.
If that happens, motorists here would be looking at $3 for a litre of petrol, said oil industry analyst Ong Eng Tong.
Mr Ong is predicting that 95-octane will hit $2.50 by the year end. ‘It’s all due to the hedge funds,’ he said, blaming the price spiral on speculative trading in the commodity. ‘They’re predicting oil will hit US$200 a barrel. They’re the ones driving it up.’
The latest increases bring the price of a litre of 92-octane fuel to $2.153 before discount, 95-octane to $2.186 and 98-octane to $2.26. Ultra-premium grades are costlier. Caltex Platinum is going for $2.386 a litre, while Shell V-Power is retailing at $2.379.
The price of diesel, which has been rising more sharply than petrol prices, has hit $1.833 a litre. If not for the duty on petrol – around 44 cents a litre – diesel, which is not taxed, would cost more than 98-octane petrol. This is the case in many countries.
Rising petrol prices have raised annual fuel expenditure for each car owner by around $1,000 in just over a year. But the recent diesel hikes will have a more significant impact on businesses which rely on diesel-powered vehicles.
Cabby Tony Pang, 59, described the diesel price rise – 17 cents a litre in one week – as ‘quite sharp’. He uses about 25 litres of diesel a day, so the last two rounds of adjustment would add $1,530 to his annual fuel bill. Multiply that by the 24,000 taxis here and the impact would be $36.7 million a year.
To add to his woes, Mr Pang said he has noticed a drop in passenger numbers since additional train services were added this week. SMRT started to roll out 700 extra train trips from Tuesday, mainly during lunch time.
Mr V.S. Kumar, 44, managing director of home-grown delivery company Network Express, said his diesel expenditure per week would rise from $250 to $350.
‘Diesel today costs as much as petrol a year ago. It’s very bad, very bad,’ he said with a sigh.
