There is a rainbow after the rain for consumers -- and that will be coming at the gas pumps as the oil companies calculated likely price rollback across products next week.

Based on the outcome of three-day trading in the regional market, the estimated price cut for gasoline products would hover at P0.70 to P1.10 per liter; while diesel will have potential reduction of P0.55 to P0.95 per liter; and kerosene prices will decline by P0.60 to P1.00 per liter.

If reckoned primarily on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) index, the prospective price reductions would be P1.033 per liter for gasoline, P0.964 per liter for diesel and P0.946 per liter for kerosene.

The oil firms qualified though that since the figures were just drawn from the result of three days regional trading, the final price to be reflected at the pumps by Tuesday (July 30) may still change – depending largely on the swing of prices in the remaining two trading days this week.

Prior to the next wave of cost movements, amalgamated adjustments since the start of the year already logged net increases of P10.35 per liter for gasoline; P7.75 per liter for diesel and P0.50 per liter for kerosene.

In the ‘state of calamity’ declaration for typhoon-stricken areas, including Metro Manila, a price freeze would have been for enforcement within a 15-day period – primarily for key commodities like kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is the widely used cooking fuel at Filipino homes.

Nevertheless, the price freeze will only be implemented if the resulting cost will be an increase, and if it will be a reduction, that must still be reflected in the sale of the specified commodities.

For LPG, the price adjustments would still be known by the first day of August, so it would just be determined by then if it will be covered by a price freeze, based on a Circular issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2016 that had been in line with the prescriptions of the Price Act or Republic Act 10623.

According to global experts, international oil prices continued to track downtrend on relentless concerns of demand slowdown; as well as new round of reported ceasefire in the conflict-ridden territory of Gaza.

China’s lower-than-expected economic data had been taking the spotlight when it comes to projection of probable demand decline, given its stature as the second biggest economy in the world.

These two major developments that have been affecting sentiments in oil markets in the past trading days had already pulled down the price of international benchmark Brent crude to $81 per barrel as of Thursday (July 25) trading from last week’s relatively strapping $83-$84 per barrel level.