Households will enjoy relief in their pockets this month as the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be slashed by P3.45 to P3.50 per kilogram (kg), based on announcement by industry players.
This month’s cutback in LPG prices will result in overall decrease of P37.95 to P38.50 for the standard 11-kilogram that is being used by Filipino homes for their cooking needs.
As of this writing, the LPG firms that already announced price rollbacks effective Wednesday, March 1, are Petron Corporation for its Gasul brand and Phoenix Petroleum for its Super LPG at P3.50 per kg; while Solane reduced its price by a leaner P3.45 per kg.
Prior to this round of adjustments, the pick-up price for the standard LPG cylinder in Metro Manila outlets had been in the range of P934.00 to P1,118.00, as culled from the monitoring report of the Department of Energy.
Additionally, Petron and Phoenix Petroleum have advised on P1.95 per liter reduction on their autoLPG, which is the other fuel preferred by those in the transport sector.
The LPG companies emphasized that the downtrend in LPG prices this month had been precipitated by the softening of international prices as anchored on the LPG contract costs of Saudi Aramco, the reference pricing for Asian markets. Contract prices for March declined by $56 to $734 from $790 in February.
Apart from the swing of prices in the world market, the fluctuation of the Philippine peso versus the US dollar is also a major factor in determining the monthly price swings for LPG products.
LPG is traded in international markets, and its price is determined in US dollars. On account of that then, exchange rates between the local currency and the US dollar can affect the price of LPG. If the local currency depreciates against the US dollar, the price of LPG in the local market will increase, and vice versa.
For an import-dependent energy market like the Philippines, it will be endlessly vulnerable to price see-saw in the world market; and for LPG, that is felt monthly by the Filipino consumers.
In global trading of LPG commodities, there are array of factors affecting price movements, including crude prices, demand and supply dynamics; exchange rates and transport costs.
For instance, LPG is a byproduct of crude oil refining, therefore, the price of crude oil has a significant impact on the price of LPG.
On the demand front, apart from its use for cooking, this commodity is also very essential for the heating needs of winter-engulfed countries; as well as an alternative fuel for vehicles.