Domestic pump prices will continue to make a dent on consumers’ pockets next week as the costs of gasoline and diesel products will be on another round of upswing based on the calculation of the oil companies.
As initially estimated, the prices of gasoline and diesel will increase by P0.75 to P0.80 per liter, while kerosene will likely go up by P0.85 to P0.90 per liter by Tuesday (Dec. 22).
The successive adjustments in the past weeks had so far pared the net decrease in pump prices in the past 12 months to P2.72 per liter for gasoline; P6.76 per liter for diesel; and P10.04 per liter for kerosene.
This week, crude prices in the world market already breached $50 per barrel – with international benchmark Brent crude scaling up to the level of $52 per barrel; while Dubai crude, which is the benchmark for Asian markets, hovered at $50 per barrel.
With many countries now having access to the Covid-19 vaccine, there have been expectations of further economic recovery next year, hence, driving up consumption of fuel commodities.
Even the heavily restricted movement of people is seen easing next year, as the ‘cure’ of this century’s distressing pandemic is now within reach by many countries in the world.
In the Asian market, S&P Global Platts Analytics indicated that the demand of this region’s “Big Four” – China, India, Japan and South Korea – will “pick up strongly” in 2021, and this will have overall impact both on supply-demand dynamics as well as on price trends.
”The Asian gasoline market looked set to continue its upward momentum…amid a new wave of Covid-19 vaccine optimism, combined with fresh gasoline demand from Southeast Asia,” a monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE) has stated.
The forecast of global experts is for crude prices rising to average US$46 per barrel next year, after its softening to the level of $41 per barrel in 2020. Prices recouped after economic re-opening in many countries, running counter to the collapse in prices the market experienced at the height of lockdowns around March to May this year.