Motorists will have a punishing drive to the gas pumps this week as the price of all fuel commodities will be on significant uptick, based on the pricing advisories of the oil companies.

As announced by the industry players, there will be hefty price hike of P1.75 per liter for diesel products; while gasoline prices will also increase by P0.85 per liter.

Of the three major commodities, it will be kerosene that will have the most significant upward adjustment of P1.90 per liter, as reckoned on the pricing adjustment notices sent by the oil firms.

The price adjustments will be effective Tuesday (June 18), and the oil companies that already advised on price hikes as of press time include Shell Pilipinas Corporation, Cleanfuel, Seaoil Philippines, PetroGazz, Chevron and Jetti Petroleum; while their competitor-firms are all anticipated to follow.

The seesaw in global oil prices tracked fresh round of escalations last week, following reports of higher demand for the summer driving season in major countries, primarily the United States.

Over the long term, however, the compass is still swinging in either direction on how international oil demand will be shaping up -- given diverging projections being set out by relevant players and stakeholders.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ally-producers (OPEC+), in particular, has been forecasting sustained demand growth in the years ahead although it does not see peak demand happening until 2045.

For Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), it has a more bullish projection of peak demand kicking in by 2029, although it qualified that the market will remain well-supplied with oil.

The contrasting outlook being painted for oil markets precipitated cost movements that leaned more on uptrend last week, with international benchmark Brent crude climbing anew to the level of $83 per barrel.

For an import-dependent economy like the Philippines, price escalations at the gas pumps will recurrently be exerting pressure not just on the purchasing power of its consumers, but will also impact adversely on the cost of services as well as commodities and the economy in general.