Blaming petrol taxes, rental, manpower and other business costs, petrol companies in Singapore are determined not to pass down the savings from falling petrol prices to Singapore drivers.
Although crude oil prices have fallen by 70% to US$28 per barrel since it’s peak in mid-2014, the petrol prices in Singapore (S$1.92 per litre for Grade 95) is still higher than the prices of countries like Malaysia (S$0.60 per litre for Grade 95). Even in Sydney Australia, a litre of Grade 95 costs only S$1.10.
Several key petrol companies which spoke to the media said they have made several downwards price revisions in the past few months and blamed currency fluctuations and business costs when the reduction isn’t as generous as those in other countries.
In Feb 2015, the Singapore government increased petrol duties by more than 33%, with premium grade petrol duties raised by 20cents per litre to 64 cents per litre and for intermediate grade petrol duties, by 15 cents per litre to 56 cents per litre.
The increased in petrol duties is actually an increase in taxes for everyone because prices of general goods and services will inflate when transport costs for businesses goes up.