Motorists can expect either a steady price for diesel next week or a measly rollback of P0.05 per liter, based on the initial calculation of the oil companies.
Gasoline prices though will go up slightly by P0.20 to P0.25 per liter; while kerosene prices may go down by P0.20 to P0.25 per liter.
This round of marginal adjustments in pump prices followed the negligible price rollback last week, but it was still a breather from the series of price hikes in the initial three weeks of the year.
Oil companies are anticipated to implement cost swings at their pumps on Tuesday (February 2), in line with the routine that the industry had already adopted in pricing their products.
Since the Philippine downstream oil sector is practically dominated by finished product importers, the main pricing benchmark applied as reference in cost movements is the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS).
International benchmark Brent crude was almost steady at US$55 per barrel in trading days last week; while Dubai crude, which is the pricing reference for Asian markets, had also been relatively flattish at US$54 per barrel.