BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Feb. 28, 2019– Around the end of last year, gas prices were slowly decreasing, giving Belizeans some welcome relief at the pumps. That relief, however, is now gone, as gas prices have risen yet again, making this the sixth time since the start of 2019 that fuel prices have increased.

The last increase took place a mere 12 days ago, on February 16, with the price of regular gas increasing by 10 cents and the price of premium gas by 12 cents. It is the price of diesel and kerosene, however, that have been raised in this most recent increase.

Effective midnight last night, February 27, the price of diesel increased by a whopping 33 cents, from $9.97 to $10.30 — thus passing the $10 mark.  The price of kerosene has increased by 29 cents, going from $7.45 to $7.74 per gallon.

A press release from the Belize Press Office says that, “These price increases are due to a reduction in supply from the OPEC countries and are also due to geopolitical uncertainties combined with an increase in demand in North America during the current winter season.”

The press release also says that the increase in the frequency of the price changes for gas is due largely to “high seasonal demand, particularly in the aviation, construction, and tourism sectors, combined with limited bulk storage capacities which together result in a need for more frequent shipments of fuel to the country in recent months.”