The return of consumers from a long weekend drive could bring rush of excitement as oil prices are anticipated to be on hefty rollback by Tuesday, Aug. 27, to the tune of more than P1 per liter for some commodities, based on the preliminary estimates of the oil companies.

As reckoned on the outcome of three-day trading as indexed on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the projected price reduction for diesel will at a substantial scale of P1.5 to P1.9 per liter; while gasoline prices will be slashed by P0.80 to P1.2 per liter.

The price of kerosene, which is an essential base for aviation fuel, will also go down by P1.4 to P1.8 per liter, according to the industry players.

If referenced purely on MOPS, the calculated price cuts would be P1.908 per liter for diesel; P1.236 per liter for gasoline and P1.814 per liter for kerosene products.

The oil firms nevertheless cautioned that the final price decreases at the domestic pumps may still change by end-week trading on Friday (August 23), although the price downtrend trajectory is already certain at this point.

Prior to the forthcoming round of cost movements, a monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE) has shown that adjusted prices since the start of the year still accrued to overall increases of P8.05 per liter for gasoline and P5.95 per liter for diesel; while kerosene logged net decline of P2.15 per liter.

There had been apparent wild seesaw of prices from last week as the most recent cost swings had been escalation hovering at P1.00 to P1.20 per liter across products, but a reverse course is immediately following next week.

Last week’s market fundamentals instantaneously shifted due to the weak economic data posted by China, one of the most widely-monitored ‘super power’ economy given its stature as one of the major consumers of oil in the world.

Owing to the apparent slowdown in demand, even the intensifying tension in Lebanon was not able to provide enough market succor that could have sustained global prices to be on the upside.

Another factor which calmed global oil market jitters this week had been the announcement of US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Israel’s acceptance of a proposed ceasefire in Gaza, which could partly take the edge off on the conflict-ridden Middle East core.

From its uptick to $81 per barrel level last week, international benchmark Brent crude nosedived anew to $76 per barrel as of Wednesday (August 21) trading, and that is clearly signaling pared prices that will cheer consumers at the pumps in the days ahead.