Pump prices falling across the board this week

According to The Straits Times, fuel rates have fallen again over the week, with the most popular 95-octane grade petrol now below the $2 level. This comes as the price of Brent crude, considered the global benchmark, slid below US$70 (S$92) per barrel.

The 95-octane grade petrol is now $1.95 a litre before discount across all four brands here: Shell, Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC), Caltex and Esso. The cheapest 92-octane petrol is at $1.91 a litre across the board, down from last week's $2, while the premium 98-octane fuel ranges from $2.07 to $2.13 a litre. Shell's V-Power is still the costliest at $2.38 a litre. Diesel prices also fell to $1.42 a litre across all the brands.

All the petrol companies, except Esso, posted the new prices on their websites on Tuesday.

The latest changes mean pump prices are now 19 cents lower than those in October and about 25 cents lower than last year's prices. They are however still relatively high compared to the last time Brent crude was at its current level, back in 2010.

Oil and gas analysts expect oil prices to continue falling into the new year. Mr. Daniel Ang, an investment analyst from trading services company Phillip Futures, said oil refining companies usually hedge their crude oil prices months and years in advance to stabilise revenues.