Costco nearly doubles cost of motor oil, limits purchases

(NEXSTAR) — Costco may have cut the prices for several popular items earlier this year, but it’s now raising the cost and limiting the sale of another: motor oil.

Costco’s Kirkland Signature full-synthetic motor oil 5-quart two pack now costs around $58, well above the approximately $30 it had been selling for just last year, and limiting customers to buying two boxes a week. It is also limiting purchases of Mobil 1’s full-synthetic motor oil 1-quart six pack, which sells for about $44, to five per membership.

A price hike and purchase limits may take you back to the days of empty shelves where toilet paper once stood , but this likely won’t impact you as much as you may immediately fear.

Unless you’re responsible for “a fleet of thousands of cars,” you probably don’t have to worry about it much, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told Nexstar.

“The normal car requires four to five quarts every 5,000 miles or so,” De Haan said, describing Costco’s limit as “what would be an extremely reasonable amount.”

It is, however, indicative of a larger picture: high oil prices.

De Haan told Nexstar that oil prices have reached their highest level in months. He pointed to 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, as contributing to the price hikes. The Saudi oil pipeline will mostly be out of service for weeks following an attack last week, two regional officials told The Associated Press.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude went above $109 on Monday morning.

“As you would expect, everything derived from a barrel of oil is being impacted in different ways,” De Haan said.

While Costco’s motor oil price hikes and sale limits may not impact you much, you may continue to feel pressure at the pump, especially if you drive a diesel vehicle.

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline, as of Sept. 14, is $4.31, according to AAA . That’s well over the $3.17 per gallon average reported at this time last year.

Diesel, meanwhile, set a record on Monday, with a national average of $6.23, per AAA data. At this time last year, the national average was just under $3.70 per gallon.

Prices at the pump for diesel and regular gasoline closely follow that of crude oil .

With oil prices continuing to rise due to ongoing tension in the Middle East, oil companies stand to profit more from turning refined crude oil into diesel or gasoline than motor oil.

It remains to be seen if other motor oil retailers like Walmart, Amazon and AutoZone will boost their prices or set purchase limits. Walmart, Amazon and AutoZone did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.