Filipino motorists’ financial pain will be lightened a bit next week, as prices of petroleum products at the pumps will be on significant rollback based on the calculation of the oil companies.
Industry players indicated that gasoline prices will be cut by P2.50 to P2.70 per liter while diesel products will be reduced by P2.00 to P2.20 per liter by Tuesday, April 5.
The pricing trajectory of kerosene products followed the same track with estimated price rollback of P1.65 to P1.85 per liter, according to the oil companies.
The calculations provided are based on cost swings of the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the regional pricing benchmark adopted by the players of the Philippine downstream oil industry; but that has not factored in other cost components yet, including foreign exchange rate, biofuel mix and other charges.
Next week's price rollback will be the second only of the 14 round of price adjustments since the start of the year. The rate of reduction though is less than the price hikes implemented in the past 2 to 3 weeks, hence, consumers are not exactly happy at how prices have been shaping up at the pumps.
Global oil prices have softened in last week’s trading primarily due to the decision of United States President Joe Biden to release 180 million barrels from their strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), targeted mainly to ease soaring prices in the world market.
That major step of the world’s biggest oil consumer-country had sent international oil prices below $100 per barrel, especially for North American market’s WTI crude which dropped to $99 per barrel as of Friday (April 1) trading.
For international benchmark Brent crude, it was still hovering at $104 per barrel while Asian market pricing reference Dubai crude was still at a high of $110 per barrel.
In a media statement, the International Energy Agency (IEA) similarly stated that its member-countries have agreed on Friday, April 1, “to a new release of oil from emergency reserves in response to the market turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
The IEA decision, which will be fully fleshed out next week, is expected to further soften international oil prices, and also manifesting their unified commitment to stabilize pricing globally.
That pact is a follow through to the earlier action this year of the IEA member-countries in which they pledged withdrawal of 62.7 million barrels from their strategic petroleum reserves.
The member countries of the IEA have mammoth emergency oil stockpiles of 1.5 billion barrels. So far, this is already the fifth time that they will be releasing from their SPRs since the 1990s to help abate turbulence in oil markets.