Pump prices in Singapore rise amid widening Middle East conflict

[SINGAPORE] Prices of petrol have largely climbed as a conflict in the Middle East which has shut a crucial channel for oil supplies escalates with no end in sight.Shell was the first to raise its posted price of the popular 95-octane fuel by four cents to S$2.92 per litre in the morning of Mar 3.Caltex increased its prices to match Shell’s past mid-day, and the move was followed closely by Esso. Sinopec backed the trend hours later.SPC is the only operator that kept prices of 95-octane petrol unchanged at S$2.87 through the day.It has not raised prices of its offerings as at the morning of Mar 4, according to the Price Kaki, a necessities price tracker set up by the Consumers Association of Singapore.Currently, SPC has the cheapest 92-octane petrol at S$2.84, with Esso and Caltex raising prices to S$2.88. Shell and Sinopec do not offer 92-octane petrol.SPC also offers regular 98-octane petrol at the lowest rate at S$3.38. Esso and Sinopec are offering the grade at S$3.42, with the priciest being at Shell at S$3.44.The so-called premium 98-octane option ranges from S$3.55 at Sinopec to S$3.66 at Shell.Commercial fleet owners and taxi drivers were not spared, with diesel pump prices rising in tandem. The highest posted price is S$2.70 at Shell, Esso and Caltex, with the lowest at S$2.57 at SPC.Global energy prices have surged as the US-Israel war on Iran halted exports from the oil-and-gas rich region.An Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior official said on Mar 2 that the critical Strait of Hormuz was closed and vowed to attack any ship trying to pass. The waterway typically handles a fifth of the world’s oil and large volumes of gas.Israeli and US forces struck targets across Iran on Mar 3, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes around the Gulf as the conflict widened to Lebanon.Singapore relies heavily on the Middle East for petroleum. It refines and re-exports a portion of its supply to countries in the Asia Pacific region.Geopolitical developments can put pressure on the prices of commodities over fears of a persistent disruption in supply routes. In March 2022, the Ukraine crisis was behind several rounds of increases in fuel prices, with the 95-octane petrol breaching the S$3 mark. Fuel pump prices reached new highs several months later, with a litre of the costliest grade of petrol crossing S$4 for the first time. THE STRAITS TIMES