As Christmas shopping rush escalates, Filipino motorists will also need to shore up their expenses for fuel as diesel prices will go up by P0.40 per liter this week; and gasoline prices will increase by P0.25 per liter.

Kerosene, which is the other commodity in the triumvirate of weekly cost swings, will be higher by P0.60 per liter.

The oil firms that already advised on their upward price adjustments this week had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil, PetroGazz and Cleanfuel, effective Tuesday (December 8).

Being the industry’s routine, the price hikes implemented by the initial price trendsetters would be matched by their competitor-firms as the dictates of market forces generally reign in the deregulated downstream oil industry.

Fresh round of excitements have been stirring up the global oil sector, especially as the rollout of Covid-19 vaccine has already been gaining headway in the United Kingdom and the United States.

For the industry, that points to near-term rebound in demand for petroleum products; which may then lift sagging prices in the world oil market.

The prognosis of experts is for prices to bounce back past US$50 to US$55 per barrel next year, although it may still be a bit lower than the US$60 to US$65 per barrel price levels prior to the strike of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lockdown in many countries in the summer months had triggered collapse in prices; and that also subsequently instigated financial losses for many players across the globe.

But as most economies re-open, the grim outlook for the oil sector is now gradually shifting into more favorable twists – with economic recovery seen with higher degree of certainty by year 2021.

Another factor being watched closely is the move of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ally-producers, because decision on output quota could considerably impact on global prices.