Consumers will need to tighten their belts anew as prices of petroleum commodities will be on another wave of upticks next week, based on the calculations by oil companies.
As estimated by the industry players, the price of diesel products will climb by P2.60 to P2.90 per liter; gasoline by P0.70 to P1.00 per liter; and kerosene products by P2.75 to P3.05 per liter.
The oil firms will be enforcing the upward adjustments on their prices at the pumps on Tuesday (October 18), and it will be in accordance with the swing of prices anchored on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the pricing reference being employed by the domestic deregulated oil industry.
Prior to this round of price hikes, a monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE) showed that price adjustments since the start of the year still logged net increases of P35.80 per liter for diesel; P26.75 per liter for kerosene; and P15.65 per liter for gasoline products.
This week’s new round of uptrends in global oil prices had been widely regarded as ‘spillover effect’ of the recent announcement of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ally-producers (OPEC+) to trim output by 2.0 million barrels per day starting next month.
And while there had been seesaw of crude prices in the world market in last week’s trading, it was culled that there were other geopolitical factors which impacted on the overall prices of fuel commodities – including the strike of refinery workers in France; as well as the rise in export of China’s refined petroleum products.
According to global oil experts, there had been ‘mixed signals’ affecting international prices – including the huge crude stocks buildup in the United States; while there was also decline in its diesel inventories due to higher demand for the winter season.
Globally, rising inflation figures across markets are similarly seen as ‘worrying precept’ for oil; and this could have unpropitious bearing on prices moving forward.
In the Philippines, the fresh batch of surging pump prices had likewise resuscitated din of protests – primarily by the public transport sector – on the lack of institutionalized policy that could aid them during financially-unbearable circumstances wrought by constantly rising oil prices.
At this stage, the Senate Committee on Energy is recommending a legislated subsidy scheme for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators once Dubai crude would top $80 per barrel – but more concrete action on this proposal has yet to be firmed up. ###