Oil companies will be implementing tiny price rollback effective Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Among the three oil products, diesel users will gain slight relief of P0.95 to P1.15 per liter, based on the calculation of the oil companies.

For gasoline products, the meager price cuts will range from P0.25 to P0.45 per liter while kerosene will have a reduction of P0.70 to P0.90 per liter.

Industry players will adjust their prices at the pumps on Tuesday (October 25) based on the swing of cost indices of the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the pricing reference being employed by the deregulated downstream oil industry.

The forthcoming price downtrends will take a reverse course from the series of two-week hefty price hikes that had been mainly triggered by the production cutback announcement of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ally-producers (OPEC+) last October 5.

While the price cuts will be considerably negligible, this would still serve as breathing space on rising fuel budgets, especially so since many Filipinos will troop to the provinces next week for All Saint’s Day and to take much-needed break within the stretch of the long weekend holiday.

According to global experts, the upswing in oil prices had been disrupted by other market fundamentals last week – including the announcement of additional 15 million barrels release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) of the United States, which accounts for the balance of the initial 180 million barrels that it had initially committed.

Additionally, it was noted that the bearish outlook in oil markets in recent days had been prompted by lingering forecast of global economic slowdown and the continuing plan of the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to rein in inflation; while China’s announcement of easing of its Covid-19 pandemic restrictions provided the counterweight.

Fusing all these factors together, oil prices ended up lower – with the international benchmark Brent crude touching at the level of $92 per barrel, roughly $5 per barrel lower from the time prices hit another record high of $97 per barrel after the OPEC+ announcement.

As of Friday (October 21) trading, however, global oil prices started to rise again at the scale of $93 per barrel; although there are no clear indications yet if spot price upswings will be sustained next week.

At this point also, the value of the US dollar versus the local currency – being the other element influencing pump price adjustments – rests on a pacified territory as the country’s economic managers sounded off strategies to prevent the greenback crossing the P60 threshold.

Amid the haywire swing of prices in either direction, the new Marcos administration is still getting its grip on an institutionalized policy that could help the marginalized public transport and agricultural sectors, primarily if there are extreme price upticks.