Pump prices are due to rise nearly 6 cents a gallon Saturday across the Pacific region, hitting record territory for the third consecutive week.
Mid-grade unleaded gas in mainland Japan and Okinawa will climb to $3.307 per gallon when the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Navy Exchange Command adjust retail prices for the week.
AAFES announced the new prices Thursday. NEX has an agreement with AAFES to keep its prices in line with AAFES at its overseas pumps in Japan and Guam, NEX officials have said.
In southern Japan, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni has the only fuel service station where prices aren’t adjusted weekly. Mid-grade gas as of Thursday was $3.47 a gallon. Marine Corps Community Services adjusts the retail price when the wholesale price from the supplier changes, officials have said.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, regular unleaded was to reach $3.454 a gallon in South Korea, while diesel was to soar 12 cents, to $4.124 a gallon.
Regular unleaded gas in Guam was to go up just 5 cents a gallon, to $3.489. Mid-grade was to retail for $3.609, up 6 cents a gallon.
Gas prices at U.S. military bases in Japan are still a bargain when compared to the local economy. On Monday, the average of price of regular gasoline in Japan was 130.6 yen or $1.28 per liter, according to Kyodo news. Mid-grade gasoline sold by AAFES at $3.307 a gallon equates to .874 cents a liter, according to AAFES.
AAFES gas prices overseas reflect stateside prices, which have been marching upward the past three weeks.
The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline set another all-time record of $3.389, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration posted Wednesday.
That price is 51.3 cents higher than last year’s average at this time.
Crude oil prices — which account for up to 70 percent of what drivers pay for gas — are projected to keep retail gas prices above $3 a gallon for some time to come, according to EIA.
Crude oil climbed to a record $115.21 a barrel this week, according to Bloomberg News.
Prices are also expected to stay high during the summer driving season. According to EIA, the cost of making “summer-grade” gasoline, which produces less smog, costs significantly more than producing “winter-grade” gas.
