Costco Hikes Kirkland Motor Oil Prices Amid Rising Global Oil Costs

Costco has raised its prices for Kirkland motor oil and imposed purchase limits on customers amid rising global oil costs. The wholesale club operator now charges around $58 for a two-pack of its full-synthetic motor oil, up from approximately $30 last year.

Costco is also limiting customers to buying just two boxes per week, while it's restricting purchases of Mobil 1's full-synthetic motor oil six-pack to five units per membership. The price for a barrel of Brent crude recently surged above $109 as the Middle East conflict continues to disrupt global oil supplies.

The Iran war has led to a shortage in Group III base oils, which are mostly refined from crude oil and imported by the US from the Middle East. This has driven up prices at the pump, with regular gasoline averaging nearly $4.32 per gallon across the country and diesel reaching a record high of over $6 per gallon.

As oil companies prioritize refining crude into diesel or gasoline over motor oil due to higher demand, it's unclear if other retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and AutoZone will follow suit by raising prices or implementing purchase limits.