Token rollback in pump prices will give consumers slight savings this week, as the cost of diesel products will be reduced by P0.05 per liter; while kerosene will have a heftier cut of P0.25 per liter.
The oil companies advised that there will be no price movement in gasoline products this week, which would still be a break from the series of upward adjustments in the past six weeks.
As of press time, the industry players that already sent notices on price cuts had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil and PetroGazz effective Tuesday (December 29); while their competitor-firms are anticipated to follow.
Global prices softened in trading days last week following fresh round of lockdowns in Europe, which portend new wave of demand downturn given that travel restrictions had been enforced anew.
There are no definite assessments yet how the new Covid-19 strain will impact on oil supply-demand outlook globally, hence, this may continue to influence prices in the succeeding trading days and weeks.
Based on earlier projections, international prices may rise to the level of US$46 per barrel by first quarter of next year – but that was a prognosis prior to the mutation of the Covid-19 infection that started in the United Kingdom.
Vaccines had already been accessed by several countries, but mass inoculation may take several months more – hence, normalization of life activities as well as wider economic re-opening may take some time yet.