Massive LPG price cuts of P9.18-P9.20/kg due April 1
Pump prices to go up next week
Filipino households are in for a breather as price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be trimmed by a significant P9.18 to P9.20 per kilogram (kg) this month, bringing to a total P100.98 to P101.20 aggregate reduction for the standard 11-kilogram cylinder for home cooking.
LPG firms that already announced price cuts effective Saturday, April 1, include Petron Corporation for its Gasul brand; and Phoenix Petroleum for its Super LPG at P9.20 per kg scale; while Solane had a slightly lower price rollback of P9.18 per kg.
Petron and Phoenix similarly advised for a P5.14 per liter drop in their autoLPG products for the transport sector. while Cleanfuel implemented a leaner price cut of P5.00 per liter.
Industry players attributed the LPG price reduction this month to the steep downswing of international contract prices as benchmarked on Saudi Aramco, which is the pricing reference for Asian markets. The adjusted LPG prices will be steady for the rest of the month.
Conversely, motorists will not be as fortunate this week, with prices at the domestic pumps returning to their escalation trend on new wave of rally in prices globally.
Calculation by industry players showed that the price of gasoline products will have heftier increase of P1.20 to P1.60 per liter, while diesel prices are anticipated at a moderate hike of P0.30 to P0.70 per liter.
For kerosene, which is part of the "group of three" in the weekly price fluctuations, will have a relatively marginal upward adjustment of P0.20 to P0.50 per liter.
Cost movements at the gasoline stations will take effect Tuesday, April 4, based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), a pricing system for fuel commodities traded in the Asian markets.
The rise in oil prices will roll in as unpleasant news to consumers, especially so since many Filipinos will have ‘holiday driving’ for the Holy Week observance.
According to experts, the elevated prices in the world market in the past trading days had been due to significant decline in US crude inventories in the Gulf Coast; as well as geopolitical events, such as supply disruption in the Kurdistan region due to the Iraqi government’s mandate for temporary halt in oil exports.
These major developments in oil markets pushed prices back to the $80 per barrel territory as of Friday, March 31, trading for international benchmark Brent crude; and that had spillover effect across markets, including in the Asian region.