MUSCAT: Filling stations reported a staggering 50 per cent rise in sales on Tuesday as thousands of frustrated motorists battled to beat the midnight fuel price increase deadline. Some stations ran out of fuel and long queues of drivers waited for more than an hour to fill their tanks ahead of the price hike. Sales figures revealed by one station chain reveal that 50 per cent more fuel was sold in the 24 hours leading up to the price hike when compared to the previous day’s sales.
The company raked in an extra OMR14,276.584 by selling Regular grade and OMR44,508.148 by selling Super grade ahead of May 31 midnight hike, compared to sales on May 30. The 21 baisas increase in regular petrol (M90), 19 baisas in super grade (M95) and 19 baisas in diesel led to long queues at filling stations all over Oman prompting station officials to shut down operations as they ran out of stock much earlier than expected.
