Costco Raises Motor Oil Prices Amid Global Oil Price Surge
Costco has raised the price of its Kirkland Signature full-synthetic motor oil to $58 per two-pack, nearly double the approximately $30 it was selling for last year. The warehouse club is also limiting purchases of this product to two boxes a week.
The retailer has applied similar restrictions to Mobil 1's full-synthetic motor oil 1-quart six pack, allowing customers to buy only five units per membership at an increased price of about $44.
This move may bring back memories of the toilet paper shortages during the pandemic, but according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, it's unlikely to impact most consumers. He explained that a typical car requires only four to five quarts of oil every 5,000 miles.
The price hike and purchase limits are indicative of a larger trend: high oil prices. De Haan attributed this increase to various factors, including attacks in the Middle East, the Red Sea, and the East-West Crude Oil Pipeline in Saudi Arabia, as well as Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian oil refineries.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude has reached its highest level in months, surpassing $109 on Monday morning. As a result, prices at the pump continue to rise, with diesel setting a record national average of $6.23 per gallon and regular gasoline averaging $4.31 as of September 14.