At a Quezon City gas station, a pump attendant fills a car's fuel tank. This week, the cost of petroleum products has risen, a direct result of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Fuel prices are about to experience a second week of up to a peso in price hike.
Effective Tuesday, Sept. 9, gasoline per liter will climb by ₱1, while diesel is set to increase by ₱1.40 per liter.
Kerosene, on the other hand, will inch up by ₱0.70 per liter.
Seaoil, Shell Pilipinas, Cleanfuel, Petro Gazz, and Caltex are among the companies that have announced these price movements for the second week of September.
These price surges were caused by the United States’ (US) sanctions on Iran for alleged oil smuggling.
Additionally, India’s oil has faced another round of pressure apart from US sanctions. Due to its continued Russian oil imports, Saudi Aramco and Iraq’s state oil marketer, SOMO, have paused their exports to India.
This action followed the European Union’s (EU) 18th sanctions imposed on entities that still do business with Russia.
A Reuters report revealed that oil-producing nations, specifically the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), have recently agreed to increase oil production from October, as Saudi Arabia plans to regain its market share.
By next month, OPEC+ is expected to raise output by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd).