Diesel prices up by P0.50/liter; kerosene by P0.30 per liter
The advent of bad news seems endless for Filipino motorists, as diesel prices will increase again by P0.50 per liter this week, according to the industry players.
For kerosene, a commodity on which people barreled by the typhoon could partly lean on while waiting for their electricity services to be back, this will also go up by P0.30 per liter this week.
Conversely, the oil firms said there will be ‘no movement’ in gasoline prices, as the cost of this product has been relatively stable in the international market in recent trading days.
As of press time, the oil companies that already implemented upward adjustments in prices include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil, PetroGazz, Cleanfuel and Total effective Tuesday (November 24); while their industry competitors are anticipated to follow their pricing leads.
For typhoon-ravaged Philippines, there were areas spared from price adjustments last week; but there are no stipulations that the oil companies will extend such pricing freeze consideration this week – especially for diesel products.
Nevertheless, for kerosene products, a ‘no price swing’ status shall stay for 15 days in towns and cities or provinces which declared ‘state of calamity’ after typhoon Ulysses’ battering the previous week.
In the global realm, what experts have been keeping track of are the developments on the targeted rollout of Covid-19 vaccine next year; as well as the recovery of economies all over the world.
Based on forecasts, Asian markets have the upper hand on the economic rebound journey post-pandemic; and this is seen accelerating by 2021.
And with anticipated economic upturns in many countries, there are also projections that prices may climb to the level of US$50 per barrel next year because of rise in demand for oil commodities.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) nevertheless noted that it is not expecting “major enhancement in oil demand from vaccines until it will be widely available from mid-2021, from which point mobility and oil demand will return progressively to normal conditions.”