Oil companies will implement another round of massive price hikes with gasoline prices anticipated to rise P1.60 to P2.00 per liter.
Diesel users will also brace for a fresh increase of P1.15 to P1.45 per liter while kerosene prices will have a heftier upswing of P2.00 to P2.40 per liter.
The industry players will implement price hikes on Tuesday, Aug. 15. It will be the sixth series of oil price increases since their incessant escalation from last month.
As has always been their routine, the oil firms will peg their adjustments on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the pricing index that tracks trading outcomes for fuel commodities in the Asian region.
Prior to the forthcoming round of cost movements, a monitoring report from the Department of Energy (DOE) has shown that price swings since the start of the year rounded up to net increases of P11.50 per liter for gasoline; P7.10 per diesel; and P2.60 per liter for kerosene.
According to global experts, spot prices of oil carried on with their wild gyration last week as spillover reaction to the inventory buildup of major economies, primarily the United States and China. This prompted international benchmark Brent crude to level off within the $86-$87 per barrel territory.
There had also been colliding factors which influenced market sentiments in recent days, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised demand forecast for next year while the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) brought down its demand hike projection by 150,000 barrels per day.
OPEC, in particular, has reckoned that crude oil consumption will climb by as much as 2.25 million barrels per day next year and that somehow sent new round of shockwaves into trading price trends last week.
Adding up to the geopolitical events which precipitated uptick in prices had been Iran’s decision to ramp up its production so it can cater to China’s demand, primarily the scheduled deliveries for September.
It is not also helping that oil’s dollar-darling remains steadfast on its strength versus other global currencies. Apart from market trading developments, foreign exchange is a major factor in the weekly price fluctuations at the pumps.
Given the successive price hikes, tension leaped up also in the ranks of the public transport sector of the Philippines, as they demand government authorities on new wave of fare hikes to help them navigate the roller coaster ride of rising oil prices.