Motorists will need to brace themselves for another week of fuel price hikes.
Based on the four-day trading in the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), gasoline is expected to increase by around ₱0.90 to ₱1.4 per liter, while diesel is anticipated to rise by around ₱1 to ₱1.4 per liter. Kerosene may also inch up by ₱1 to ₱1.2 per liter.
These projected price adjustments were attributed to market movements involving the United States (US), China, and Iran, according to the Department of Energy (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB).
"Crude prices extend gains on positive US-China trade signals," said Rodela Romero, OIMB director. Investors have been optimistic about a potential US-China trade deal, as upcoming economic talks could help ease tensions over China's export controls.
Despite positive developments elsewhere, Romero noted that a slowdown influenced the oil price movements for the upcoming week in US trade negotiations with Iran. This caused some pessimism in prices, as analysts assumed the tensions between the two nations could result in supply disruption.
Moreover, she noted that oil-producing countries expect oil demand to continue growing for the next two and a half decades. Jetti Petroleum elaborated that the rising demand could lessen the impact of increased oil production from OPEC+.
"The demand optimism has outweighed worries about increased supply as OPEC+ further unwinds its production cuts, with higher oil demand seen within OPEC+ economies over the coming months, could offset the additional supply from the group and support oil prices," said Leo Bellas, Jetti President.
Prices did not rise further, likely due to stable Asian gasoline and diesel benchmarks. Bellas shared that these remained supported during the summer demand season, as China's fuel exports stayed low because of ongoing refinery maintenance.