Due to renewed swell of prices in the international market, Filipino consumers have to take the pain of higher expenses anew when they fill up their vehicles at the petroleum pumps.
As announced by the oil companies, the price of diesel will substantially rise by P6.10 per liter; while gasoline prices will increase by P1.40 per liter.
Additionally, the price of kerosene products will escalate by significant P6.10 per liter, as advised by the industry players. All price adjustments are effective Tuesday (August 30), according to the oil firms.
As of press time, the oil companies that already sent notices on their price hikes had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Cleanfuel, Seaoil and Chevron Philippines; while their competitors are anticipated to follow as anchored on the industry’s cost movements routine.
For cooking fuel liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the overall forecast could still be a rollback, but the Department of Energy (DOE) indicated that final price adjustment will be known by the end of the month (August 31) yet.
According to market experts, the new round of upswing in prices had been mainly due to escalation of trading prices as referenced on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), which is the pricing benchmark being employed by market players in the domestic downstream oil industry.
As can be gleaned, the MOPS cost movements for both diesel and kerosene products went beyond $14 per barrel; while it was at a leaner $2.00 per barrel-plus for gasoline products.
The fresh wave of devaluation of the local currency versus the US dollar - which touched back above P56 last week - had likewise aggravated the uptick of prices that shall be reflected at the pumps this week.
The recurring uptrend in global oil prices had been generally traced to the continued ‘tight supply’ predicaments of oil markets; and compounded by a recent pronouncement of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that it may likely be cutting back on production.
There were also uncertainties ignited by the wobbly direction of the Iran nuclear deal; as well as the declaration of the United States on restraining export of petroleum products to key markets, such as those in South America and European nations.
On the whole, there are forecasts from global oil markets that supply may tighten further in the weeks ahead as many countries will already buildup on their fuel stocks for the winter season; and that could entail incessant hikes at the pumps in the weeks ahead.