Fuel prices continue to increase

GEOPOLITICAL tensions in oil producing countries continue to put pressure on oil consumers worldwide and Papua New Guinea is no exception.
Prices for petroleum products have gone up again and it looks as though K5 per litre for petrol and diesel is a real possibility.
Independent Consumer and Competition Commission’s Dr Billy Manoka announced that diesel consumers will today be paying K3.52 a litre, an extra 26t on last month’s K3.26/litre.
Petrol will be selling for K3.87/litre, an 18t increase from last month’s K3.69/litre.
Kerosene has also increased by 22t to K3.41/litre.
Manoka attributed the prices like to global demand for crude oil which continues to reach high peaks in the Asia-Pacific region.
Changes in fuel prices are determined by global energy demand and supply and given that crude oil is a globally traded commodity, it is expected that demand and supply determinants in the major regions around the world, the value of the US dollar and other geo-political tensions in oil producing nations will continue to cause prices to change at any time in the future.
Manoka said should the crude oil continue to trade above the US$100 per barrel mark prices would be adjusted accordingly and would remain high for some time.
He said domestic prices might continue to fluctuate in the coming months should crude oil prices continue to trade below or above that mark.