MANILA, Philippines—Following price cuts on gasoline, diesel and kerosene made last Thursday, the LPG Marketers Association is to cut prices anew by P1 per kilo of cooking gas and auto LPG starting midnight Thursday.

LPGMA president Arnel Ty said in an interview that with a reduction of P11 per 11-kilogram cylinder, the group's suggested retail price will be P483.

The group is composed of 40 independent LPG refillers that are operating in Luzon. Their brands brands include Pinnacle, Catgas, Omni, Nation, Island Gas, Continental and Regasco.

With a target of decreasing prices by P15 per kilo in November, LPGMA has so far reduced prices by a total of P13.

LPGMA slashed prices by P3 per kilo last Nov. 1; P1 on November 4, 7 and 11; P4 on November 14; and P2 on November 18.

Based on monitoring of 25 LPG brands in Metro Manila, latest data from the Department of Energy show that an 11-kg cylinder could be picked up from the dealer at a price of as high as P595 and as low as P460.

On Thursday, Petron Corp. and Total (Philippines) Corp. cut the prices of LPG by P2 per kilo while Eastern Petroleum Corp. cut the price of auto LPG by P1 per liter.

According to the DOE, the international contract price of LPG plunged to $490 per metric ton or $314 less than the October rate of $804.

Petron also announced that it was decreasing the price of liquefied petroleum gas by P2 per kilogram or P22 per 11-kg cylinder.

At the same time, Eastern said it was reducing the price of its auto-LPG by P1 per liter.

Also on Thursday, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp., Eastern Petroleum Corp., PTT Philippines Corp., Total (Philippines) Corp. and Chevron Philippines Inc. cut pump prices for gasoline, diesel and kerosene by P1 a liter.

The companies said falling international oil prices prompted the price cuts which, since prices peaked in July, were the 16th time for gasoline, 13th for diesel and 14th for kerosene.

Gasoline and diesel prices have since gone down by a total of P19 to P20 per liter while those of kerosene slid by a total of P17 to P18.

The latest cuts brought prevailing prices in Metro Manila of unleaded gasoline to a range of P37.07 to P42.51 a liter, diesel to between P35.97 and P39.17 a liter, and kerosene to between P42.80 and P48.49 a liter.

DOE monitoring shows that retail prices of an 11-kg cylinder of LPG now ranges between P536.00 and P595.25 while those of auto LPG are now between P24.00 and P26.22 per liter.

"World oil prices continued to decline last week, tumbling to their lowest level in almost two years as traders continued to worry about weaker demand for energy amid an increasingly deteriorating economic outlook," the DOE said.