Nothing is official, but Americans stationed in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands should prepare themselves for yet another increase in the price of gas coupons next month.
“It’s probably safe to say the price is going to go up, because it’s going up in the States,” said Maj. Dave Accetta, a spokesman for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service in Europe. The spokesman for the exchange’s headquarters in Dallas said nothing is official, however, because the prices are the result of averaging the previous month’s prices.
“The Department of Energy releases the weekly gas prices late Monday every week,” said Judd Anstey, spokesman for the Dallas headquarters. “AAFES pulls this info and calculates the overseas gas prices that last Tuesday morning of every month.”
Unless things change radically and soon, commuter wallets will lose weight.
According to the AAA automobile club, the average price of regular gasoline in the United States on Wednesday was just more than $2 — its highest price ever. The cost of premium reached $2.20.
The exchange service adjusts the prices for gas coupons monthly in the three European markets, while prices in other areas are adjusted less regularly based on contracts. Military petrol prices in Turkey and the Azores, for example, change only annually. Navy bases such as those in Spain and Italy adjust prices less regularly and independently of the AAFES system.
“The prices are set in Dallas,” Accetta said of the monthly fluctuations in some countries. “It’s based on the previous four-week average, and it’s usually around the 25th or 26th when they get the information they need to set the price.”
On Monday, oil prices hit $42 per barrel, according to The Associated Press. Saudi Arabia has proposed that OPEC ramp up oil production by 6 percent to lower prices. One senior OPEC delegate told AP that the cartel might turn the tap even more.
