At A Glance
- The most-awaited development that may impact prices in the days ahead will be the outcome of any agenda that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their ally-producers (OPEC+) will be coming up with on their online meeting which has been rescheduled to November 30.
Motorists using diesel in their vehicles are up for a slight pinch in their wallets this week as the price of this commodity will rise by P0.30 per liter, based on the pricing advisory of the oil companies.
The other product that will experience upward adjustment of P0.65 per liter this week will be kerosene, which is an essential base for aviation fuel and also used in many households as well as other key industries.
Gasoline prices, on the other, will have no movement this week, according to the industry players; with the earlier expected rollback dissipating due to competitive market forces.
As of this writing, the oil firms that already sent notices on their price hikes effective Tuesday (November 28) had been Shell Pilipinas Corporation, Seaoil, Cleanfuel and Chevron; while their competitor-firms are all anticipated to follow this week’s pricing trends.
So far, consumers will need to brace for another four weeks of price adjustments before year 2023 closes; but market watchers are still anticipating very volatile oil markets onward to next year.
As indicated by global experts, the most-awaited development that may impact prices in the days ahead will be the outcome of any agenda that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their ally-producers (OPEC+) will be coming up with on their online meeting which has been rescheduled to November 30.
There have been reports that the OPEC+ countries still can’t agree on any portended production cuts, and the opposition has been coming mainly from their African counterparts.
It was emphasized that if the output quota among the major global producers will be unchanged, then prices are expected to stay within the current levels more or less, with no major upswing or price collapse seen in the remaining weeks of the year.
From last week’s trading, it was noted that China’s rebound in its property sector would have driven up prices, but escalation in the product inventory of the United States provided a counterweight to that market pressure.
For an oil import-dependent economy like the Philippines, what will always come as a bit of good news will be price rollbacks; and any announcement of cost upticks will be an enemy of consumers’ wallets and paychecks.