Drop in diesel prices seen, but gasoline to cost even more

MANILA, Philippines — A week after slashing prices of fuel products, the cost of diesel is projected to decline by P2.40 to P2.70 per liter, but the price of gasoline will likely increase by a hefty P4 to P4.30 per liter on Tuesday, an industry source told the Inquirer.

According to the source, the fuel price projections were based on the market prices during the week covering May 16 to May 20.

Unioil’s forecast is somewhat similar. In its advisory, the company pegged the price of diesel to decrease by P2 to P2.20 per liter while the cost of gasoline may go up by P3.80 to P4 per liter.

Last week, the price of gasoline dropped by 40 centavos per liter while that of diesel decreased by P3.10 per liter and kerosene by P2.10 per liter.

As of May 17, the net cumulative net increase in domestic fuel prices has hit P21.60 per liter for gasoline, P31.40 per liter for diesel and P27.65 per liter for kerosene.

Based on the Department of Energy’s price monitoring, petroleum products are sold for as low as P68 per liter to as high as P93 per liter.

Oil companies announce upward or downward adjustments in fuel prices every Monday. These are implemented the following day.

Several factors come into play in the local pricing of pump products, including freight and shipping costs.

The Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) is the regional pricing benchmark for refined oil products. The country’s oil industry refers to MOPS for determining the price of finished petroleum products.

In the global market, the Asian bellwether Dubai crude gained 1.39 percent to settle at $106.99 per barrel. The international benchmark Brent crude, meanwhile, rose by 0.46 percent to close at $112.55 per barrel.

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TAGS: fuel prices, oil firms