Price adjustments will be mixed at the petroleum pumps next week as the costs of gasoline products are anticipated to go up slightly by P0.10 to P0.20 per liter while diesel will have a marginal rollback of P0.05 to P0.10 per liter.
Kerosene prices will also be on uptrend of P0.15 to P0.25 per liter, based on the initial calculation of the oil companies as hinged on the movement of prices in the international market.
In keeping with their routine, the oil firms are expected to adjust pump prices on Tuesday (October 6) – often following the pricing lead of their industry competitors.
Global oil prices had been roughly steady last week due to reports of slower economic growths being logged in various parts of the world.
As culled from last week’s monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE), it was emphasized that demand for gasoline and diesel may remain sluggish in many countries worldwide given threats of another wave of coronavirus infections.
While demand for fuel products temporarily bounced back during the driving season in Western countries, this slowed down subsequently after their summer vacations; and the fuel commodities markets are expected to remain “vulnerable to potential outbreaks and localized lockdowns.”
In the Southeast Asian market, in particular, concerns are being raised over slowing driving activity, and this is seen making dent on market sentiments.
“Driving activity in Thailand and Indonesia were recorded under baseline levels as of September. The slowdown reportedly echoes growing concerns over the worldwide demand outlook for gasoline, particularly as talks are ongoing in the United Kingdom and several regions in Europe over fresh movement restrictions,” a DOE report has stated. (MMV)