Motorists welcome continuous gas price decrease

Mobil Oil Marianas lowered its gas prices for the fourth time since the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yutu last Oct. 24, 2018. (Kimberly A. Bautista)

The continuous decrease of gas prices has been serving the CNMI community well since the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yutu over two months ago.

Mobil Oil Marianas and Shell Marianas have lowered their gas prices yet again and it has been affecting CNMI residents positively.

As of yesterday, both Mobil Saipan and Shell Saipan brought their gas prices down from $4.03 per gallon of Extra fuel to $3.93 per gallon and their Supreme fuel is down from $4.40 per gallon to $4.30.

According to Jon Bait, a 47-year-old Saipan resident, the continuous decrease in gas prices has been beneficial for those who are still on the road to recovery following Super Typhoon Yutu.

“I think it’s great that the gas price went down again because we, as consumers, get to save money especially after the crisis we are going through…we needed the gas prices to drop more than ever because some residents, like myself, still do not have power and rely on generators that run on fuel,” he said.

Samantha Francisco said that the roll back in gas prices is the best thing to happen after Super Typhoon Yutu.

Grace Velena, a 23-year-old female CNMI resident, said that she was ecstatic to find out that the price of fuel continues to roll back, especially since Super Typhoon Yutu affected almost everyone, but she is curious about the reason behind the continuous roll back.

McKinley Masaharu said that he “freaked out” to see the gas at $3.93 and although it’s a good thing it continues to decrease, he hopes that it stops fluctuating.

The CNMI saw its first gas price rollback of 2018 a month following Super Typhoon Yutu. Mobil brought its prices down from $4.53 per gallon of Extra fuel to $4.43 per gallon and its Supreme fuel went down from $4.90 per gallon to $4.80.

The second price rollback after Yutu was seen in early December. Mobil brought its prices down by 20 cents, dropping its price from $4.43 per gallon of Extra fuel to $4.23 per gallon and its Supreme fuel from $4.80 per gallon to $4.60.

The third rollback was seen on Dec. 17. Mobil brought its price down from $4.23 per gallon of Extra fuel to $4.13 per gallon and its Supreme fuel from $4.60 per gallon to $4.50.

The fourth rollback was seen on Dec. 24. Mobil brought its price down from $4.13 per gallon of Extra fuel to $4.03 per gallon and its Supreme fuel from $4.50 per gallon to $4.40.