Filipino motorists will have to brace for mixed adjustments in pump prices next week, according to initial calculation of the oil companies.
As estimated, gasoline prices will potentially go down between P0.45 to P0.60 per liter depending on the product’s grade; while diesel prices may go up slightly by P0.15 to P0.25 per liter.
Kerosene, which is the other commodity being monitored weekly at the pumps, may not incur any cost movement this week, according to the oil firms.
The industry players are anticipated to adjust their prices on Tuesday (May 18); and the cost swings will be anchored chiefly on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the index adopted by the oil companies in calculating their weekly price movements.
From last week’s adjustments, a monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE) showed that gasoline prices still incurred a net increase of P7.80 per liter if reckoned from cost movements since the start of the year; diesel was still higher by P6.05 per liter; and kerosene still had a net increase of P5.30 per liter.
Global experts noted that the regeneration in oil demand had been more on a “mixed state” -- because even if major economies like China and the United States are now exhibiting buoyant economic recoveries, there are still countries suffering extremely from the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic – primarily India, which is also one of the world’s major oil consumers.
In Europe, hopes are being raised for faster economic recuperation with the revival of factory operations as well as accelerated inoculation programs of many countries that will then stimulate demand surge in the coming months.
The move of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ally-producers to gradually relax production cuts is also being watched closely as among the factors that could exert pressure on global prices in the weeks and months to come.
In the Philippines, demand for petroleum commodities is also expected to be on uptrend in the coming days following the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to ease quarantine restrictions in key areas, including the economic center of Metro Manila. ###