Motorists filling up their vehicles with gasoline products can benefit from higher price cuts of P0.75 per liter at the pumps this week, based on the price reduction advisory of the oil firms.

Similarly, the price of diesel products will be trimmed by P0.65 per liter; while kerosene prices will be down by P0.60 per liter, according to the industry players.

As of this writing, the oil companies that already sent notices on their price rollback effective Tuesday (November 21) had been Shell Pilipinas Corporation, Seaoil, Cleanfuel, PetroGazz and Chevron; while their competitor-firms are all anticipated to follow.

This is already the fourth week that fuel prices had been continuously on downtrend since October 31 – and that was mainly due to softening of prices in the world market.

Prices have generally softened since the fourth week of September, except for another round of price hikes that happened on the week of October 24, which in essence, had agitated anew the spending nerves of Filipino consumers.

The weekly price adjustments at the domestic pumps reflect the outcome of trading in the regional market, as indexed on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), which is the pricing benchmark adopted by the players in the deregulated downstream oil industry.

Global experts have been citing various factors that precipitated downswing in international oil prices – including slowdown in global economic growth as anchored on the lower-than-expected macroeconomic figures from ‘super power’ countries like China; as well as market sentiments arising from industry speculations when it comes to pricing.

Market watchers are not anticipating fresh wave of pressure that may trigger sudden climb in prices in the days ahead, although they are closely monitoring what agenda the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ally-producers (OPEC+) will be pursuing in their November 26 meeting in Vienna, Austria.

As noted, if the powerful global oil producers would decide on a new round of production cut, it is highly likely that world oil prices will be tracking upticks again in the weeks leading to the Christmas holidays.

But while prices in the Philippines are on their rollback, this will bring in cheers to all Filipino consumers – not just due to lower expenses for their fuel and transport costs, but this will also ease inflationary pressure on the costs of basic goods and services.