Pump prices hit new highs, with costliest grade above $4 a litre, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
Singapore

Pump prices hit new highs, with costliest grade above $4 a litre

This article is more than 12 months old

Fuel pump prices have climbed to new highs again to breach $4 for the first time on the back of an imminent ban on Russian oil and increased demand as world economies return to full swing.

According to Fuel Kaki, a pump price tracker set up by the Consumers Association of Singapore, a litre of diesel is now between $3 (Sinopec) and $3.08 (Shell) - up from $3-$3.05 two weeks ago.

A litre of 92-octane petrol is now between $3.26 (Esso, SPC) and $3.28 (Caltex) - up from $3.13-$3.20.

A litre of the popular 95-octane fuel ranges between $3.26 (Sinopec) and $3.33 (Shell, Caltex) - up from $3.16-$3.25.

Posted prices of 98-octane petrols are between $3.73 (Sinopec) and $3.82 (Shell) - up from $3.64-$3.74 - while the so-called premium grade of 98-octane fuels are going for between $3.86 (Sinopec) and $4.04 (Shell).

This is the first time petrol has breached the $4 mark here.

The relentless surge in pump prices started well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, which sparked wide-ranging sanctions against Moscow that have deepened the global supply chain crisis.

The gradual - and then sudden - reopening of economies as the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic has also fuelled demand for fuels. At the same time, producers are struggling to increase production - for instance, restarting refineries which had closed during the pandemic.

RBOB Gasoline, a proxy for refined petroleum products, is now around US$4.20 a gallon, its highest in over two decades.

The benchmark Brent crude is now above US$117 a barrel, and heading towards its March high of almost US$130 a barrel.

PETROL PRICESDIESEL/PETROLOIL AND GAS SECTORConsumers Association of Singapore