The price of gas and diesel in the Cayman Islands has come down a few cents during the past several days for the first time in months.
Reason for the decrease: “A barrel of oil is now US$81 to US$82, down from US$105,” said Mr. Albert Hislop of the Savannah Texaco/Rubis, who explained that his prices would be going down by 20 per cent for regular gas, 15 per cent for premium gas and 20 per cent for diesel to CI$5.68, CI$5.77
and CI$5.70, respectively.
“Esso dropped theirs first and we just got notice that our prices are going today from Rubis,” Mr. Hislop said. He said some of the reason that prices in the Cayman Islands were so high as of late was because of the increase of 25 cents on duty for fuel, which was introduced by the government in 2010, bringing duty to 75 cents per imperial gallon of gas.
Rubis assumed all control for Texaco gas stations in the Cayman Islands last November in a deal that included 174 stations across the Eastern Caribbean. Other islands included in the first round of purchases by Rubis include Antigua, Barbados, Grenada Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Guyana, St. Kitts, French Guyana, Martinique, Guadelope and Trinidad and Tobago.
According to the Cayman Islands government’s Economics and Statistics Office Foreign Trade Statistics Report for 2011, there were 10.6 million imperial gallons of gas imported into the Cayman Islands, valued at $43,738,000. The report listed the cost of gas to suppliers, inclusive of freight and insurance, as $4.13. This is before duty, which is 75 cents per imperial gallon, meaning the total cost of gas for most gas stations to get gas to their tanks is roughly $4.88. According to figures on the Department of Planning’s website last updated on 25 June, the cost of gasoline ranged between $5.51 to $5.89 for regular gas and $5.92 to $5.99 for premium. Prices for diesel ranged from $5.57 to $5.97, according to the Planning Department’s website.
Mr. Hislop said people were not aware of the true cost of doing business in the Cayman Islands and said the main reason gas would never reach the $4 mark again in the Cayman Islands was because of the 25 cent duty surcharge introduced in 2010.
He added that, “The market in the Cayman Islands cannot be compared to the United States fairly because that country uses US gallons/3.79 litres, while the Cayman Islands market is based on imperial gallons/4.546 Litres.”