Petrol companies must come clean on latest increase in prices

THERE was a collective groan from motorists across Singapore when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced a surprise increase in petrol duty towards the end of his Budget statement on Monday.

The duty for premium- and intermediate-grade petrol went up by 20 and 15 cents per litre with immediate effect - a calculated move by the government to discourage car usage and reduce carbon emissions. Mr Tharman explained that with falling global oil prices, pump prices after the petrol duty changes kicked in would remain lower than the levels in the last two-and-a-half years.

Drivers, however, were in for a double blow on Tuesday when they discovered that pump prices at three of Singapore's four petrol companies were raised beyond the levels of the petrol duty hike. A litre of 98-octane petrol was higher by up to 25 cents, and for 95-octane the hike was as much as 18 cents.