On this last price adjustment for August, Filipino consumers will need to cough up more on their fuel budgets as petroleum product costs will increase starting Tuesday, August 31, as advised by oil companies.
The price of gasoline products will increase by P0.40 per liter; diesel by P0.60 per liter, while kerosene by P0.70 per liter.
As of press time, some companies already adjusted their pump prices. These include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Chevron, Cleanfuel, Seaoil and PetroGazz, while all their other rival-firms are anticipated to follow.
Of all the oil companies, it was only Cleanfuel which tempered its gasoline price adjustment by P0.35 per liter, cheaper by P0.05 per compared to the other players.
If based solely on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) calculation, the price of gasoline should have just risen by minimal P0.10 to P0.20 per liter; but the oil companies said they are not done yet with cost recoveries on higher ethanol prices.
This will already be the fourth week that the more expensive ethanol costs in the last quarter is being recouped from consumers via pump price adjustments – although the oil companies just previously indicated that the aggregate costs to be recovered should just have been at P0.60 per liter.
Additionally, the oil firms emphasized that pump price hikes this week carry higher freight costs on their oil importation, hence, gasoline prices end up higher in their adjusted pump costs this week.
Fuel consumption in the country is still sluggish because of the strict Covid-19 quarantine measures being enforced by the government in various parts of the country, including in Metro Manila.
And while oil companies were already upbeat on demand recovery in the past months, the scenario is getting reversed because of the surge in coronavirus infections that confined most Filipinos on work-from-home and online learning arrangements.
The domestic oil industry suffered slump in their bottom lines last year, but despite the lingering pandemic, they are still aiming to end the year with more favorable financial outcomes.