Regular petrol prices under $3 for the first time in a week

Regular petrol prices have fallen back below the $3 mark, with American oil major Esso starting the ball rolling yesterday morning.

On the back of sliding crude oil prices, Esso lowered its fuel prices by 10 cents across the board. Its 92-octane petrol is now $2.95 a litre, 95-octane $2.99 and 98 $3.46.

This is the first time in a week that petrol prices have fallen below the $3 mark.

By late afternoon, both Shell and Caltex had cut petrol prices by 10 cents a litre, and diesel prices by 15 cents a litre to match Esso's rates. The two remaining Chinese companies - SPC and Sinopec - have stayed put as at 6pm.

The benchmark Brent crude is now below US$100 a barrel for two days in a row, although trade observers reckon this may just be a blip, and that the commodity will not move far from the US$100 mark for the near term.

After discount, Caltex is still the cheapest for petrol, with its 92-octane at $2.39 (with the OCBC Voyage card).

For the popular 95-octane, Caltex also has the lowest rate of $2.42 (with the OCBC Voyage card). This is matched by Sinopec, which has only three stations.

For 98-octane, which is necessary for only a minority of cars here, Esso's best rate of $2.84 trails Sinopec's $2.80 by four cents but is 29 cents below the priciest offer - Shell's $3.13 (with the UOB One card).

Caltex also has the lowest diesel price of $2.18 (with the OCBC Voyage card), while Sinopec has the lowest price of $2.88 for the so-called premium petrol.