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Pump prices up 20 cents on Saipan
Shell Marianas followed suit in raising pump prices by 20 cents after Mobil Oil Marianas Inc. hiked its prices earlier in the week.
Mobil last Monday increased its pump prices, with regular gas now at $3.68 a gallon, while Super Unleaded is now $4 a gallon. Diesel saw an increase from $3.66 to $3.81 a gallon.
Shell, on the other hand, has made efforts to keep up with Mobil’s rise in prices. The two gasoline stations traditionally mirror each other’s gas increases and decreases.
Given that motorists had no choice but to purchase gas between the two oil companies, messenger/expediter Anthony Alegre shared with Saipan Tribune that he was used to it, and that it didn’t surprise him anymore.
“I spent $30 for gas to keep my car running for five days. Now, I think that I’ll only be getting four and a half days, maybe even less for $30,” he said.
After fidgeting around for gasoline receipts, he even computed the difference to prove his point.
“I used to get exactly 8.598 gallons of gas worth $30. With the 20-cent increase for gas prices, I would be getting about 8.172 gallons of gas,” he said.
Although the difference is minimal, Alegre sees it as one more dollar for every 5 gallons.
Alegre runs his Toyota pickup truck 22-26 miles on average per day, which when stacked upon each other, makes for a considerable difference per month.
