SearchFeatures
Buy & SellLifeExtra Services |
Falling oil prices trigger gas warDate Posted: 2006-11-17 The prices are well below the Okinawa average ¥115 per liter, but industry officials are apprehensive the low prices could cause dangers for the gas stations. The selling price is less than cost, and other services such as oil changes and car washes are making up only half the difference. Not all stations in Okinawa City are engaged in the price slashing, staying more close to the ¥120 range. The highest price listed was ¥117 per liter, but that station quickly reduced the sale price to be competitive. “We are going into the red as much as we sell,” said one operator. Tokyo gas stations, by comparison, are charging ¥131.7~137.6 per liter. Customers are pleased with the lower prices, even if they are only temporary. One worker who said he’d stopped driving because of the high prices, now says “I will be driving again on holidays.” Other customers are taking it all with a grain of salt, knowing it won’t last. Surveys indicate most customers remain loyal to their regular service stations. “It’s a state of emergency now,” says the chairman of the Petroleum Cooperative of Okinawa. “If gas stations keep this up, only the major gas stations can survive. Cost prices haven’t gone down that much.” |
   
|
