PETROL pump prices have fallen for the first time in 18 months, but industry watchers say it is too early to celebrate.
Yesterday, Shell, ExxonMobil, Caltex and Singapore Petroleum Co reduced petrol prices by four cents a litre, after an unabated series of price increases dating back more than a year.
The adjustment brings 98-octane fuel to $2.32 a litre, 95-octane to $2.246 and 92-octane to $2.213. So-called ultra-premium petrols Caltex Platinum and Shell V-Power are now retailing at $2.436 and $2.439 a litre respectively. Diesel remains unchanged at $2.033 a litre.
The reduction in petrol rates follows a sharp drop in crude oil prices since last Friday - the date of the last pump price hike here - due partly to the easing of tensions between Iran and Israel. More importantly, wholesale fuel prices have also fallen by about US$5 (S$7) a barrel since.
Chevron Singapore retail manager John Sam, who is responsible for the Caltex brand here, said: 'This is the right thing to do, as crude and wholesale prices have come down by quite a bit.''
Crude oil fell from more than US$146 a barrel last week to US$136 on Tuesday. Some industry watchers say the corresponding price drop for drivers could have been bigger.
Oil industry consultant Ong Eng Tong, for example, said that going by the drop in crude prices, pump rates here 'should have fallen by 10 cents, not four''. He added that while diesel prices should also have fallen as well, the worldwide demand for this fuel of commerce seems currently stronger than petrol.
Commenting on the price drop, Consumers Association of Singapore president Yeo Guat Kwang said: 'It is a good move. The oil companies are more responsive to change and market conditions. I hope they will keep this up.'
He added that as a motorist, however, 'I am still not too hopeful. Oil prices are still high, and the market is still turbulent.'
Mr Ng Weng Hoong, editor of EnergyAsia.com, a Singapore-based news portal on the energy industry, noted that the prevalent high oil prices had pushed the cost of doing business all round. This applied to pump operators too.
While yesterday's reduction would be a respite for drivers and businesses, experts are not optimistic about its sustainability.
In fact, crude prices started climbing again yesterday, after news broke that Iran had successfully tested new long-range missiles.
