Consumers will gain breathing space in their pockets this week, as the price of diesel products will be on rollback by P3.00 per liter, while kerosene prices will be reduced by P3.40 per liter, according to the oil companies.

For gasoline, there is no cost movement this week, as industry players noted that the previously calculated marginal rollback of P0.20 to P0.40 per liter had been squirreled away by the decline in Philippine peso’s value versus the US dollar, as well as market premium and other charges.

As of press time, the oil companies that already advised on their price reductions had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, PetroGazz, Cleanfuel, Seaoil and Chevron effective Tuesday (July 5).

The cost swings at the pumps had been mainly anchored on the movement of the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), which is the pricing reference embraced by the Philippine oil industry players.

In recent weeks, however, the highly volatile exchange rate was also being monitored closely by the oil companies as this has also been impacting immensely on the weekly fluctuations of prices at the pumps.

In this week’s initial day of trading, international benchmark Brent crude eased slightly to $111 from last Friday’s $112 per barrel, but there are no clear signs yet if the downtrend will be sustained in the days ahead.

Filipino consumers are already squeezing blood from stone when it comes to their household budgets – with high fuel prices triggering inflationary pressures on the prices of basic commodities as well as on transport fares and wages.

The other dilemma of the country on the falling value of the local currency versus the US dollar has also been eroding further the purchasing power of consumers – even for the families of the overseas Filipino workers.

The most awaited policy pronouncement of the newly-installed Marcos administration is on the measure it will enforce so it can help tame the cost impact of incessantly climbing oil prices; that in turn, may also have chain reaction on electricity rates.

There had been initial pronouncement of targeted subsidies, but there was no exact figure given yet by the new government leadership -- and when the promised new round of financial assistance will land into the hands of the marginalized consumers – primarily those in the public transport and agriculture sectors.