Filipino consumers are facing yet another round of fuel price hikes this year.
Starting Tuesday, Oct. 29, gasoline prices will increase by P0.20 per liter, while diesel and kerosene will rise by P0.50 per liter.
Major oil companies, including Shell Pilipinas, Caltex, and Clean Fuel, attributed the price increase to the persistent rise in global oil prices.
The nominal hikes were predicted earlier last week based on the four-day Moving Average of Singapore Platts (MOPS) data, as Jetti Petroleum shared the price movements were affected by the Middle Eastern tensions that remain to threaten oil supply.
Jetti president Leo Bellas previously explained that aside from the geopolitical frictions, there is a tightening of the supply of gasoline and diesel in Asia that pumps the prices further.
Meanwhile, productions have significantly reduced due to maintenance turnarounds, unexpected facility shutdowns, as well as run cuts, which attributed to the fuel price increases observed this week.
The streak of price hikes ended last week as gasoline showed a minimal decrease of P0.50, diesel at P0.70, and kerosene at P0.85. The average gasoline price was around P64 to P70, while diesel was at P58 to P64.
This short-time discount was due to the slight ease of fears of supply disruptions and slow demand from China.