Staff Sgt. Jose Pluguez, with the 374th Medical Support Squadron, at Yokota Air Base, Japan, fills up his car at Yokota’s West Side gas station. Pluguez, who lives off base, said he doesn’t mind the 12-cent hike in gas prices this week, saying the on-base prices were still cheaper than those off base. (Bryce S. Dubee / Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Starting on Saturday, Pacific drivers will be paying more at the pump as exchange gas prices jump by roughly 12 cents.
This follows several weeks of similar prices hikes that have increased the cost of a gallon of gas in the Pacific by about 40 cents this month.
In Japan, midgrade unleaded went from $2.26 to $2.39 this week, while in South Korea regular rose from $2.40 to $2.52, with premium increasing from $2.63 to $2.75 a gallon.
Guam prices followed similar trends, with regular, midgrade and premium gas all increasing by at least 12 cents to $2.61, $2.72 and $2.84 respectively.
Diesel prices in Japan and South Korea also increased, although only by 4.3 cents.
Drivers in Japan and Okinawa are paying about 15 cents less than the U.S. average for midgrade, which on May 25 was $2.54 a gallon, according to U.S. Department of Energy averages.
Meanwhile, prices in South Korea and Guam again remained above the U.S. national averages, which increased to $2.43 for regular and $2.66 for premium.
Prices on Pacific bases began rising in January, even with a major one-time reduction of Japan prices three months ago, according to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
Prices are adjusted each week by AAFES based on national averages, with Navy Exchange gas stations in the Pacific mirroring those set by AAFES.
Among drivers gassing up at Yokota on Thursday afternoon, opinions were mixed about the price hikes.
"Do I think it’s crazy and outrageous? Yes!" said Daniel Askew, a civilian employee, who said he feels there’s no reason for the prices to be going up.
On the other hand, Staff Sgt. Jose Pluguez, with the 374th Medical Support Squadron, said he was less bothered by the increase.
"For us, it’s still cheaper because we live off base on the economy," he said. "We don’t really worry too much about [the price increase] because there’s nothing we can do about it."
Both men said that they’re glad that the prices aren’t comparable to those of this time last year, which were about $1.20 higher per gallon.
"Definitely less is always good," said Askew. "But reasonable would be even better."
