Local oil companies hike pump prices anew

Pump prices rose for the third straight week, this time the biggest so far at P1.05 per liter for diesel and P1 per liter for gasoline as the Asian crude oil market felt the effects of production cuts. Shell, Seaoil, Total and PTT raised prices at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. Cleanfuel followed suit at 4 p.m. Shell and Seaoil also raised prices of kerosene by 95 centavos per liter. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was pegged at $54.83 per barrel at press time, down from $55.66 on Jan. 11. Dubai crude, the Asian bellwether, was at $55.17 per barrel, jumping from $53.78 per barrel a week earlier. —Ronnel W. Domingo