Pump prices in Singapore fall on back of Russia-Ukraine peace talks

For 98-octane fuel, prices are $3.58 at Shell and $3.56 elsewhere. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

SINGAPORE - After a series of sharp rises in recent months, pump prices have generally softened even as all posted petrol rates remain above $3 a litre.

According to Fuel Kaki, a pump price tracker set up by the Consumers Association of Singapore, 92-octane petrol is now $3.05 at Caltex and Esso (11 cents lower than last week) and $3.04 at SPC (four cents higher).

The other two oil companies, Shell and Sinopec, do not offer 92-octane, which can be used by most cars here.

The 95-grade is now $3.09 a litre (at least 14 cents lower than last week) across all brands except SPC, which has a posted price of $3.08 (five cents higher) for the most popular petrol here.

For 98-octane fuel, prices are $3.58 at Shell and $3.56 elsewhere - representing reductions of five to 14 cents. The so-called premium grade of petrol is now $3.75 at Caltex (eight cents lower), $3.80 at Shell (14 cents lower) and $3.69 at Sinopec (five cents lower).

After discounts, prices of 92-octane petrol range from $2.47 a litre (Caltex with OCBC Voyage card) to $2.62 a litre (Caltex with Unlimited Cashback card and Esso with Citibank Cashback and OCBC cards).

The lowest discounted price for 95-octane range is $2.42 at Sinopec, which has only three stations. Among brands with sizeable networks, prices range from $2.50 (Caltex with OCBC Voyage card) to $2.78 a litre (Shell with UOB One card).

For 98-octane, it is $2.80 at Sinopec and between $2.92 (Esso with DBS Esso card) and $3.22 (Shell with UOB One card).

Meanwhile, leading taxi operator ComfortDelGro reduced its diesel price by 10 cents on Wednesday to $1.85 a litre.

These price reductions followed a sharp drop in oil prices. The benchmark Brent crude fell from its 14-year high of US$139 a barrel last week to below US$100 on Tuesday (March 15) before recovering slightly to US$101 at early trading on Wednesday.

The change in trajectory - which has been upwards since last December - comes on the back of ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia, concerns of a drop in demand as China begins locking down to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases and fresh calls by the International Energy Agency for oil-producing member states to release more stockpile to stabilise prices.

Despite the reduction in pump prices this week, all fuels - including diesel - are still higher than what they were last month.

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