Esso, Shell reduce prices after SPC resists price rise

American oil giant ExxonMobil, which markets the Esso brand of fuels, was the first to revert to previous pump prices at 4:00pm on Friday afternoon of 29 April 2020, some two weeks after rival SPC resisted a previous increase.

Anglo-Dutch group Shell followed suit at 6:00pm on the same day.

According to Fuel Kaki - a fuel price tracker managed by the Consumers Association of Singapore - Esso and Shell pump prices are now largely where they were before the previous increase.

Esso's and Shell's 95-octane petrol is now retailing at $1.99 a litre before discount, while Esso's 92 - which Shell does not offer - is $1.95, matching SPC's rates. Esso's 98-octane is $2.36, while Shell's is $2.38. They are both still higher than SPC's $2.33 after the latest round of adjustments. Esso and Shell diesels are both now $1.67 a litre, versus SPC's $1.64.

Shell's V-Power, which is marketed as a grade above 98, is $2.61 and still $0.01 higher than its price before the last increase. Other players are expected to match Shell's and ExxonMobil's reductions. Sinopec, which takes it fuel supplies from Shell, is more likely to do so than others.

Although RBOB Gasoline, a publicly traded commodity and a proxy for wholesale petrol price, had dipped slightly this week, it is still noticeably higher than it was two weeks ago.

If the lone resistance by SPC persuaded other pump operators to backtrack on their increase, it would not be the first time. Early this year, the Chinese-owned company also resisted a round of price increases which saw all the other players raising petrol and diesel prices by $0.03 a litre from 6 January 2020. Within a week, the other players reverted to their previous rates.

Pump prices at Esso stations were the first to rise in the previous round of increases, which saw petrol and diesel rates climbing by around $0.03 a litre.