Motorists filling up their vehicles with gasoline products will have heavier financial burden at the pumps this week as the price of this commodity will go up by P2.80 per liter, while diesel prices will rise by P2.25 per liter.

For kerosene, the price uptick to be shouldered by users of this product will be P2.40 per liter.

As of this writing, the industry players that already sent notices on their price hikes include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Cleanfuel, Seaoil and Chevron; while their competitor-firms are anticipated to match the cost adjustments already implemented.

Currently, the fuel product that already incurred the biggest upswing since the start of the year had been gasoline with aggregate hike of P5.90 per liter; diesel had a net increase of P2.05 per liter; while kerosene prices already climbed by P3.20 per liter.

On the first day of February, another basic commodity that will make a dent on household budgets would be the anticipated price hike for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a cooking fuel preferred in most Filipino households.

The financial squeeze being suffered by consumers at the pumps may be compounded by highly probable electricity rate hikes next month, on top of the surging prices of food and basic services.

For oil commodities, in particular, there have been new wave of escalations in the regional as well as global prices due to rebound in the demand of China after it chipped away its long-held strict Covid restrictions.

As of Monday, Jan. 23 trading, international benchmark Brent crude was at $87 per barrel level. It is not clear yet what trajectory pricing will be heading to for the rest of the week.

Beyond China’s surging oil needs, upward adjustments in demand projections have been registered by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with its ally-producers.

Saudi Aramco, the biggest oil producer under OPEC’s enclave, similarly warned that supply shortfalls may reign in the market soon, primarily if upstream investments would not be able to catch up with demand escalation.

##OILPRICES #SHELL #SEAOIL #CLEANFUEL #CHEVRON

Gasoline prices up by P2.80/liter; diesel by P2.25/liter