Motorists using gasoline in their vehicles will need to shell out extra cash in their fuel budgets this week as the price of this commodity will increase by P0.30 per liter, according to the pricing advisory of the oil companies.

Conversely, diesel users will experience slight relief in their pockets with the P0.30 per liter rollback announced by the oil firms for this product; while for kerosene, there will be no price change this week.

As of press time, the oil companies that already advised on their price adjustments had been Shell Pilipinas Corporation, Seaoil, Cleanfuel and PetroGazz effective Tuesday (December 5); while other players are expected to match the pricing trends initiated by competitors.

The cost swings at the pumps are still anchored on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), which is the pricing reference for the weekly adjustments being implemented by the players in the deregulated downstream oil industry.

Despite last week’s announcement of voluntary 2.2 million barrels per day production cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ally-producers (OPEC+), industry experts noted that such development failed to stir markets into price rally.

For the Philippine market, the general wish of the Filipino consumers will be for oil prices to stay tamed in the remaining weeks of the year, as many will be on their usual drives to Christmas shopping, parties and the traditional family gatherings.

Onward to 2024, the general assumption of experts will be for international oil prices to track volatilities; and one early development awaited by January is Brazil’s entry into the OPEC+ enclaves.

Nevertheless, the forecast of Paris-headquartered International Energy Agency (IEA) portends possible softening of prices that could be underpinned by increased oil supply in markets.

“With demand growth set to slow as the global economy continues to weaken, the market could shift into surplus at the start of 2024,” the global energy think tank has emphasized.

Given that the Philippines relies heavily on importation to satiate its oil needs, downtrend in global oil prices will always redound to good news when these are reflected as price rollbacks at the domestic pumps.