KINGSTON, Jamaica
KINGSTON, Jamaica
Oil prices continue to inch up following the last-minute deal on the US fiscal cliff.
Brent crude rose to almost US$113 a barrel Wednesday, the highest since October 19, before easing to settle up US$1.36 at US$112.47.
Oil moved in tandem with other risky markets after the US Congress approved a deal to avoid automatic tax rises and spending cuts that were forecast to bring on a recession.
US fuel consumption, wavering since the financial crisis, would weaken further if economic growth spluttered.
Here in Jamaica, consumers are to see higher prices at the pumps this week.
Petrojam on Wednesday announced it will hike the price of E10-87 and E10-90 gasoline by J$1.33.
The increase is the third week in a row and takes the price of gasoline to a 10-week high.
Diesel price will rise by J$0.72 while the price of kerosene will fall by J$0.05 cents.
Propane cooking gas goes up by J$1.50 while butane rises by J$0.36 cents.
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Robert Lalah
By Robert Lalah
I could scarcely believe my eyes. The sign outside the gas station near Ocho Rios, St Ann, had the price of a litre of 90 octane gas as $135. Surely, this was a mistake. I mean, gas prices are high, and they seem to be rising faster than ever, but there’s no way anyone could be selling it for that much money.
I continued driving along the same roadway, amused at the gas station’s error and wondering how long it would take for them to discover the misdeed. Poor fools, I thought.
Then, my stomach sank. About 100 yards to my left was another gas station, a different company entirely, and looming over the property was a billboard of sorts, ominously displaying the price of a litre of 90 octane gas – $139.
I was stunned.
This happened a couple of weeks ago while I was in St Ann for just a day. In Kingston, a litre of the same gas averages somewhere around the mid to high 120s. St Ann clearly has it a lot worse, but I suspect that no matter where in the country you are, filling up at a gas station these days is more painful than root canal.
I remember when the price of a litre of gas hit triple digits for the first time. Something told me that despite the usual fluctuations in prices, we would never again return to sub-$100 days. I fear I was right.
Everyone hates high gas prices. You could be driving a Corolla or a Range Rover, it really doesn’t matter. We all have things we’d rather do with our money.
Same lousy gas
The most vexing part of it is that whether you’re paying $39 or $139, all you’re getting is the same lousy gas that will only take you from here to there and no further. What’s so great about over there anyway? I’m seriously contemplating just staying here permanently.
But I know I’ll probably have to go to the grocery store at some point, so I need to come up with some sort of low-budget transportation plan. I was near South Camp Road the other day and saw two policemen standing on a sidewalk behind some shrubs while two large brown horses grazed nearby. I used to think it was silly for policemen to be riding around the city on horses in this day and age.
It always seemed awkward, like the horses weren’t sure how to manoeuvre the paved areas and the policemen were just hanging on for dear life, hoping they’d figure it out. But now I see the genius of it. Horses don’t run out of gas. And when they need a top-up on energy, all you have to do is pull up to the nearest grassy area and let them have a go at it.
They are messy, though, and it would likely be a real chore parking one in a garage.
I guess I could always get a scooter. They run on very little gas, can zip through traffic and are a breeze to park. The trouble, though, is that it’s impossible to look cool on a scooter. There’s something about the tiny wheels and perky horn that make them appear less than sophisticated.
Walking is an option, but only within reason. I can’t promise anyone that I’ll be trekking miles-long distances, but perhaps for everyday tasks, this plan could work. Instead of driving around town paying bills and buying this and that, at places relatively close to each other, maybe I could just walk. I certainly wouldn’t have to worry about parking, and refuelling would require little more than a tall glass of water.
But consider how time-consuming this would be. And what if I want to see a late movie at Carib? I don’t want to be walking home near midnight. There are enough crazies in the city during the day.
Hmm. Foiled again. This needs some more thought, but I won’t stop trying. Better to find a way out now than to wait till gas gets to the dreaded $200-per-litre mark which, at the current rate, could be only a few months away.
Robert Lalah is assistant editor – features, and author of the popular ‘Roving with Lalah’. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com
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The big spike in gasoline prices is just about over, but it’s too late to bring much relief for Labour Day weekend.
The national average price for gasoline inched up just 0.3 cents Friday to $3.83 per gallon, ending a string of dramatic increases caused by Hurricane Isaac.
“We’re in the ninth inning of this,” said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.
Still, drivers will pay the highest pump prices ever for this time of year.
The sky-high prices are keeping people like David Keup of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, home. He was planning to visit a few friends near Coleman, Wisconsin this weekend, but now he’s going to abandon the 285-mile round trip.
“It’s not worth the added expense,” he said.
Isaac, now slowly disintegrating over the middle of the country, forced several Gulf Coast refineries to shut down or operate at lower rates. This has deprived markets of millions of gallons of gasoline and sent prices sharply higher.
The storm pushed the national average gasoline price up 10 cents per gallon in one week, including a 5 cents gain Wednesday that was the biggest one-day gain since February of 2011.
But the price surge appears to be over. Kloza expects average gasoline prices to creep higher during the weekend then start falling after Labour Day, the last big driving weekend of the summer.
Pump prices were on the rise even before Isaac arrived. The average gasoline price rose about 40 cents from July 1 to mid-August because of refinery problems in the Midwest and West Coast, and sharply higher crude oil prices.
Crude has traded between $94 and $97 per barrel for two weeks, after rising from a low near $77 in late June.
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Gasolene prices will go up by $2.00 per litre come tomorrow.
A litre of E-10 87 gasolene will sell $107.52 while E-10 90 gasolene will be sold for $109.17.
The price of automotive diesel oil will be increased by $1.11 to sell for $107.29 per litre.
A litre of kerosene oil has been cut by $1.68 and will be sold for $109.85.
A litre of butane has been reduced by $0.57 and will sell for $49.92.
However, the price of propane cooking gas has been reduced by $2.08 and will be sold for $33.56 per litre.
Retailers will add their mark-ups to the announced prices.
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Brace for higher fuel prices.
That’s the warning from the Jamaica Gasoline Retailers Association, JGRA.
It comes as consumers face the seventh consecutive week of
Local gasoline retailers are reporting a turnaround in sales in line with the continued decline in the price of
With high light bills, constantly increasing petrol prices, the promise of the PNP last year to remove the GCT component on JPS bills, Petrojam refusing to divulge the money value of the materials after processing one barrel of oil and claiming
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell says consumers will have to wait until the budget is presented, before knowing what, if any decision has been made to cap the gas tax to bring ease to consumers.