All petrol prices now start from $3 a litre, with one grade nearing $4
All petrol prices are now $3 or more a litre here, with one grade nearing $4 a litre as oil prices breach US$130 per barrel.
According to Consumers Association of Singapore's pump price tracker Fuel Kaki, China-owned SPC was the last to raise prices on Wednesday afternoon (March 9), joining the other four oil companies - Caltex, Esso, Shell and Sinopec - in posting petrol prices from $3.
A litre of 92-octane fuel, which can be used by the majority of cars here, is a uniform $3 at Caltex, Esso and SPC stations. Shell and Sinopec do not offer this grade.
A litre of 95-octane petrol ranges from $3.03 (SPC) to $3.23 (Shell), while a litre of 98-octane is $3.72 at Shell and $3.51 elsewhere.
The so-called premium grade 98-octane is $3.64 at Sinopec, $3.72 at Caltex and $3.94 at Shell.
The latest changes translate to increases of between eight and 17 cents a litre for 95-octane petrol, the most popular grade here. Since Feb 14, this grade has climbed as much as 45 cents, or 16 per cent.
After discounts, the lowest price for 95-octane is $2.38, at three stations run by Sinopec. Among brands with sizeable networks, prices range from $2.48 (Caltex) to $2.91 (Shell).
For 92-octane fuels, prices range from $2.43 (Caltex) to $2.58 (Esso). Prices of 98-octane after discount range from $2.76 (Sinopec) to $3.35 (Shell). And for the premium grade, the range is from $2.84 (Sinopec) to $3.55 (Shell).
Brent crude oil has risen by around 35 per cent since Feb 14 to hit an intra-day high of US$131.60 on Wednesday, with the sharpest ascent posted from Feb 24 - the day Russia invaded Ukraine. RBOB gasoline, a proxy to wholesale petrol, climbed 34 per cent to US$3.72 a gallon in the same time frame.
Oil traders are now predicting that Brent - a benchmark crude - will hit US$200 a barrel if Europe and the US ban Russian oil imports.
Traders last predicted US$200 oil back in the mid-noughties. The commodity hit an all-time high of US$147 a barrel just before the 2008 global financial crisis brought prices back down to earth.
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