The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission announced this afternoon that an unscheduled adjustment in gasoline prices will occur at midnight tonight (12:01 a.m., Friday, March 9, 2007). Wholesale gasoline prices, before taxes, will increase by a further 5.5 cents a litre over those approved on March 1. Pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline at self-serve outlets will now range from 108.2 cpl to 109.8 cpl. This is the highest price level since last summer when maximum prices peaked at 120.1 cents per litre in early August.
All other product prices will remain the same.
The unscheduled price adjustment results from the ongoing and rapid escalation in world market prices for refined gasoline products. Despite the substantial price increases that have occurred in recent weeks, Commission-approved wholesale prices (those charged by wholesalers and marketers to retailers) have continued to lag well behind escalating world market prices for the past several weeks and have resulted in sustained and measurable losses to industry wholesalers and marketers for almost five weeks. Even at the level of this announced increase, a further increase is likely to occur next week.
Average NYMEX reported pricing:
Crude ($/barrel) / Regular Unleaded Gasoline (cpl)
Jan 1–Jan 31 ~ $54.43 / 44.4
Feb 1-Feb 27 ~ $59.27 / 50.4
Feb. 28-March 6 ~ $61.24 / 59.2
Difference: Jan 1 to March 6 ~ $6.81 / 14.8
The Commission’s next scheduled price adjustment will be on March 15, 2007.