Premium Fuel Hiked Again; Fourth Increase of Gas Prices in 2 Months

Independence Day in Belmopan was full of invective from both sides of the political spectrum, and there is a major announcement on Petrocaribe to report tonight. But we begin with breaking news affecting gas prices, which trickles down to all levels of society.  Just under forty-eight hours after massive increases for regular and diesel fuel, by ninety-two and thirty-seven cents respectively, the Bureau of Standards has confirmed another price hike for premium fuel tonight at midnight sending the price rocketing to eleven dollars and ninety-two cents, an increase of ninety-three cents from the prior price of ten dollars and ninety-nine cents. This is also the fourth such increase in the last two months alone, which has been attributed to both the breakdown of the Petrocaribe program and damage to U.S. refineries caused by Hurricane Harvey. While Petrocaribe returns in October as we’ll report in a later story, it has seemed to have a negligible effect on gas prices, which have been steadily climbing for several years. It has been confirmed that that latest shipment of regular and diesel fuel that drove up the prices at the pumps at midnight on Wednesday came by road from El Salvador. The current shipment of premium is also from El Salvador. The bad news for buyers of premium fuel is that the anomaly of regular fuel costing more than premium was short lived.