Happy days are back for consumers filling up their vehicles with diesel products, as this commodity will be on price rollback of P3.95 per liter by Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Gasoline products, on the other, had been reduced by P0.85 per liter while kerosene prices had been slashed by P2.65 per liter, based on the pricing adjustment notices sent by the oil companies.
As of press time, oil firms that already advised their price cut include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Cleanfuel, PetroGazz, Chevron and PTT Philippines; while their competitor-firms are anticipated to follow.
Despite the series of price adjustments, oil prices still incurred net increases of P33.85 per liter for diesel; P17.75 per liter for gasoline; and P27.85 per liter for kerosene.
Industry players are adjusting their prices based on the swing of prices as indexed on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the instituted pricing reference of the domestic downstream oil sector.
The continued decline in pump prices will bring cheers to the Filipino consumers, especially if this will be carried through into the Christmas holidays, when mobility will be peaking because of parties in offices as well as on gatherings of friends and relatives.
The downtrend in prices at the pumps had been mainly attributed to the drastic softening of prices in the world market due to the price capping being proposed for Russian oil; as well as the new wave of Covid lockdowns in China.
Those two major factors somehow reigned in market sentiments last week; that even the inventory buildup of the US market failed to lift sagging prices.
As of Monday, Nov. 28, trading, global oil prices had been on persistent plunge – with international benchmark Brent crude plummeting to as low as $81 per barrel, even lower than the $83 per barrel as of Friday trading last week.
Market watchers noted that if the collapse in prices will be sustained in the days ahead, there is high probability that consumers could expect another round of price rollbacks next week.