Filipino motorists will need to stretch their fuel budgets anew as prices at petroleum pumps will rise this week by a scale of P0.60 per liter for gasoline; and P0.70 per liter for diesel.

Kerosene, which is an essential commodity for households and key industries, will also go up by P0.85 per liter, based on the pricing adjustment notices sent by the oil companies.

As of press time, the oil firms that already advised on price hikes had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil, Cleanfuel and PetroGazz effective Tuesday (April 20); while their competitor-firms are expected to follow the enforced price trends.

While domestic oil demand is still snagged by strict quarantine measures – especially in the National Capital Region (NCR) plus bubble, there are already factors in the world market reinforcing demand upticks – primarily the favorable economic growths posted by super power countries, like China and the United States.

Philippine oil companies nevertheless noted that demand slump will no longer be as bad as last year, when overall industry sales plummeted by up to 70-percent when the lockdowns were implemented in the capital and neighboring provinces.

Next month, one of the major developments being monitored closely by experts is the decision of the global oil producers on boosting production – primarily the steps to be taken by those affiliated with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their ally-producers.

Asia, in particular, is a key market seen perking up demand in the coming months with many countries in the region perceived to be on their rebound from the distressing impact of the pandemic.

In the US, as its vaccination program is now continuously stepped up, it is expected that Americans will be back on their driving season especially in the summer months.

This year’s see-saw in prices had been generally mix – although there had been more instances of price increases from January to date, because of the green shoots of recovery already manifesting in many economies in the world.

For the Philippine oil market, most players are projecting that their sales will spring back by next year yet, given the new wave of lockdowns being implemented by the government because of rising Covid infections in some parts of the country – especially in Metro Manila.