Motorists using diesel products on their vehicles will experience lesser fuel budget this week as the price of this commodity will be on rollback by P1.85 per liter, while gasoline will be trimmed by P1.20 per liter. The price of kerosene, which is the other commodity in the triumvirate of weekly adjustments, will be down by P2.00 per liter, as advised by the oil industry players. The oil firms that already sent notices on their price cuts had been Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil, Cleanfuel, PetroGazz and Chevron effective Tuesday (March 21); while their competitor-firms are all anticipated to follow. The price reductions had been anchored on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), as referenced on the outcome of trading in the regional market last week. The downtrend in prices had been due to the crash of two major global banks – the Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse; which in turn raised questions on the viability of the financial sector; hence, triggering the crash in global oil prices. Nevertheless, the signal given by major global oil producers – primarily Saudi Arabia and Russia, on possible propping up of supply in the days ahead somehow prevented further plummet in prices. That development slightly reinforced world prices to the level of $72 per barrel by Monday (March 20); from a lower base of $71 per barrel as of Friday (March 17) trading. At this stage, there are no definite direction how prices will swing in the days ahead as there are no major fundamentals being closely watched by markets yet that will exert pressure on prices. Probabilities of economic recession remains as a parameter that could still impact on prices in the succeeding weeks or months; while an antithesis to that, will be hike in China’s demand due to increased industrial activities. For the Philippine energy market which is highly dependent on fuel imports, consumers will remain exposed to volatility of prices in the world market that will then result in up and down prices at the pumps.