87-octane price climbs 37% since January
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Petrojam’s billing price for 87-octane gasoline has climbed 37 per cent since the start of the year, with motorists facing another broad round of fuel increases from Thursday.
The price of 87-octane will rise by $3.06 per litre to $204.40, up $55.20 from $149.20 at the beginning of 2026.
At Petrojam’s billing price, purchasing 50 litres of 87-octane will now cost $2,760 more than at the start of the year, before marketing companies and service-station operators add their mark-ups.
Motorists using 90-octane gasoline will pay $4.50 more per litre, taking its price to $213.27.
Automotive diesel and ultra-low-sulphur diesel will also rise by $4.50 per litre to $223.50 and $239.09, respectively. Kerosene will increase by the same amount to $196.42.
The prices of propane and butane will each rise by 25 cents per litre to $77.96 and $86.93, respectively.
Thursday’s adjustment marks the fourth consecutive weekly increase in the prices of gasoline, both diesel grades and kerosene.
Since June 25, automotive diesel has increased by $22.25 per litre, while ultra-low-sulphur diesel has risen by $21.55. Over the same four-week period, 90-octane gasoline has climbed by $12.69; 87-octane by $11.27 and kerosene by $10.52.
The latest diesel increase follows a $12.50-per-litre rise last week, meaning both grades have climbed by $17 per litre in two weeks.
The increases have occurred despite Petrojam using a price-smoothing mechanism to limit the amount of international price movements passed on to consumers each week.
Petrojam chairman Metry Seaga said this week that the State-owned refinery had absorbed approximately US$18 million under the mechanism. He said international market movements would, at one point, have required an increase of as much as $40 per litre without the intervention.
Petrojam said its ex-refinery prices generally move in the direction of finished-product prices in the US Gulf Coast market. However, crude oil and finished petroleum products trade in separate markets and do not always move together.
