Vehicles running on diesel fuel will have lighter budget this week as the price of this commodity will be on a significant rollback of P2.80 per liter, as announced by the oil companies.
Additionally, the price of gasoline products will be reduced by P0.75 per liter, while kerosene will go down by P2.10 per liter, according to the price adjustment notices sent by the oil companies.
Oil firms that already announced their price cuts effective Tuesday, Jan. 10, include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil, PetroGazz, Cleanfuel and Jetti Petroleum; while their competitor-firms are all anticipated to match the adjusted prices.
The renewed collapse of prices in the world market last week had been mainly attributed to the softening of demand due to heightened projections of economic recession this year, as well as the troubles being encountered by China on its reopening from strict Covid lockdowns.
As of Monday, Jan. 9 trading, however, there was already slight escalation in global oil prices with international benchmark Brent crude hitting more than $79 per barrel from a lower $78 as of end-week trading.
The other market developments which helped ease prices last week had been the added output of Nigeria, injecting into markets by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
For the rest of 2023, the overarching projection is for oil markets to be tormented with continued volatility but no "extraordinary events" are expected that could trigger all-time hikes similar to what happened during the eruption of the Russia-Ukraine war in February last year that precipitated the rise of oil prices to more than $130 per barrel at the time.
In the Philippine market, which is highly import-dependent, it would still be incessantly afflicted with price fluctuations that will be reflected weekly at the domestic pumps.
Until this time, the Marcos administration has not established any firm policy yet on how to will deal with volatile oil prices, as well as on calls for the unbundling of fuel prices to invoke transparency on the cost components being reflected at the pumps.
At instances when pump prices are on their upticks, the government often re-activates the “Pantawid Pasada" program or the fuel subsidy being extended to the drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) to help them wade through the regime of relentless price hikes.