MAP prices finally go down, will prices at the pump follow suit?

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — After several months of continuous increases, the new maximum allowable price (MAP) — or the wholesale price released by ASG’s Office of Disaster Assistance and Petroleum Management (ODAPM) —effective Aug. 15 is finally dropping but the retail price may not be realized, at the same time, for unleaded gas and diesel fuel at local gas stations.

Unleaded gasoline is currently near $6 per gallon while diesel is more than $6 per gallon following the last MAP increase on July 15. And motorists — especially owners of aiga buses that use diesel — are bracing for another hike when the new MAP is released tomorrow, Monday, Aug. 15.

Local alia vessel owners, the few that are still fishing, were also worried about another hike in fuel costs as this is a major expense for them

However, data released yesterday to the local media by ASG Chief Petroleum Officer, Lisa Tuato’o, who is also ODAPM director, shows a decrease in the new MAP compared to the previous one — dated July 15.

According to the data, unleaded gasoline decreased by 75 cents per gallon; 73 cents decrease each for land diesel and marine diesel; and 68 cents per gallon drop for kerosene.

“Although the MAP for gas is seeing a decrease in wholesale prices, there still may be some higher prices at the gas stations because fuel suppliers purchased these fuels when prices were high and those fuels are still in their tanks,” Tuato’o said in releasing the new MAP data.

“It is a welcome relief for our people in the months ahead as we remain hopeful for gas prices to continue to decrease but at the same time, business owners need to make some profit too,” she pointed out.

ODAPM reiterated that OPDAPM/ ASG has no control over the retail price at gas stations.

This is the first time in several months that the MAP has decreased after continuing increases going back to last year.

The Commerce Department’s Statistics & Analysis Division’s Consumer Price Index for the 2nd Quarter of 2022 — for the period of April to June — that was released last month, reaffirmed the increase in gas prices going back to 2021.

Data in the DOC report shows that the average gasoline price for 2nd quarter was $5.12 per gallon, compared to $4.58 per gallon in the first quarter of 2022, while it was $4.30 per gallon for the 4th quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile in the States, Associated Press reports gasoline prices have dipped under $4 for the first time in more than five months — good news for consumers who are struggling with high prices for many other essentials.

AAA said the national average for a gallon of regular was $3.99 on Thursday, down from the mid-June record of $5.02. However, that’s still about 80 cents higher than the average a year ago.

Motorists in California and Hawaii are still paying above $5, and other states in the West are paying close to that. The cheapest gas is in Texas and several other states in the South and Midwest.

A year ago, the nationwide average price was just under $3.19 a gallon, according to AAA. After a long climb, that price has dropped steadily this summer, falling 15 cents in the past week and 69 cents in the last month,

“If you talk to people who are not economists, gas prices always go up faster than they come down,” said Schwarz, the energy-pricing expert. “These are still high gas prices.”