Sharron Todd pumps gas at the west-side station at Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Thursday. AAFES gasoline prices have dropped in the Pacific. (Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Gas prices at Army and Air Force Exchange Service pumps fell more than a dime a gallon Thursday throughout the Pacific, with the exception of unleaded gas in Japan, which remained unchanged.
The price for a gallon of mid- grade gas at AAFES pumps in Okinawa and Japan remained steady at $2.232 for the first week of the agency’s new pricing policy.
Diesel fell almost 20 cents, going from $2.42 per gallon to $2.23.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, AAFES dropped the gallon price of unleaded gas in South Korea by 13.5 cents, from $2.367 to $2.232. Premium unleaded in South Korea fell from $2.574 to $2.448, a savings of 12.6 cents, and a gallon of diesel fuel now costs $2.480, down from $2.669 in January.
On Guam, the regular unleaded gas price at AAFES pumps fell 14 cents, from $2.369 to $2.229. Midgrade gas dropped 13 cents, to $2.339, and a gallon of premium unleaded fell 12 cents to $2.449.
“These are the new overseas fuel prices for the period 1–9 February 2007,” said Master Sgt. Donovan K. Potter, an AAFES spokesman. “This is the initial use of weekly Department of Energy averages to set AAFES gasoline prices. This week’s pricing is based on the DOE weekly average published 29 Jan 07 for each grade of fuel.”
The prices remained higher than the U.S. average calculated by the American Automobile Association. As reported by AAA, the average price of gasoline in the U.S. on Thursday was $2.151 a gallon.
But the AAFES prices were far below what gas costs outside base gates. The average price for unleaded regular gas in Japan this week was 132.2 yen, or about $4.16, per liter, according to a report released Wednesday by the Oil Information Center in Tokyo. On Okinawa, the average price per liter was 133 yen, or $4.18 per gallon.
A gallon of unleaded in Seoul now costs 5,316 won, or $5.65 a gallon. On Guam, a gallon of unleaded was averaging $2.94.
Potter said AAFES’s retail pump prices will begin changing every Saturday starting Feb. 10 and will be based on the DOE weekly average published the previous Monday.
Consumers can expect a rise in gas prices in coming weeks, Potter said. After dropping to $52 a barrel, crude oil has begun increasing to the $56 level, he said.
“Pump prices for gasoline have started to level off after declining over the past few weeks,” he said.
The price for gas at Navy Exchange pumps are following the AAFES pricing, said Kristine M. Sturkie, a Navy Exchange spokeswoman.
The NEX price for midgrade and diesel fuel in Japan was $2.232 on Thursday. Gas prices at NEX pumps in Guam were $2.229 for unleaded, $2.339 for midgrade and $2.449 for premium unleaded, she said.
Current AAFES gas prices per gallon:
Mainland Japan and Okinawa
Midgrade unleaded — $2.232, no change.
Diesel — $2.232, down from $2.42.
South Korea
Unleaded — $2.232, down from $2.367.
Premium unleaded — $2.448, down from $2.574.
Diesel — $2.480, down from $2.669.
Guam
Unleaded — $2.229, down from $2.369.
Midgrade — $2.339, down from $2.469.
Premium unleaded — $2.449, down from $2.569.
