Another round of heavy blow will wreck consumers’ pockets next week, as big-ticket oil price hikes will be reigning anew at the domestic pumps, based on the calculation of the oil companies.

As estimated by the industry players, the price of diesel products will rise by P1.40 to P1.80 per liter, gasoline by P0.95 to P1.35 per liter and kerosene by P1.00 to P1.40 per liter.

If anchored on the swing of the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) index, the calculated adjustments had been P1.466 per liter for diesel; P0.986 per liter for gasoline; and P1.010 per liter for kerosene products.

Next week’s cost movements at petroleum pumps will follow an earlier wave of hefty price hikes which already started siphoning off disposable income of consumers, hence, that has been disproportionately affecting the purchasing power of the lower income segment of the population.

Further collateral damage will also be inflicted on public transport drivers, as this fresh batch of spikes in oil prices will not just directly slash their earnings, but this will have greater implication on the overall efficiency on keeping the wheels of urban mobility turning.

Prior to the forthcoming round of price adjustments, a monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE) has shown that cost movements since the start of the year already logged net increases of P6.90 per liter for gasoline, P6.00 per liter for diesel and P0.35 per liter for kerosene.

According to global experts, the escalation in oil prices is being fueled by foreseen demand hike -- not just during the summer driving season in the United States but also due to improving economic fundamentals of major countries in the world.

For the Asian market, it was emphasized that the elevated prices had been partly due to lower refinery runs in China due to maintenance schedules as well as on concerns of tightening refining margins.

Industry watchers similarly noted that a temporary shut-off in the oil exports from West Africa somehow exerted pressure on supply to markets, hence, the run-up in overall prices.

As of Thursday (June 20) trading, international benchmark Brent crude was already inching close to $86 per barrel from a leaner level of $83-$84 per barrel last week.