Local fuel prices expected to be cut amid better supply
PRICE CUT | A gas attendant fills up a fuel tank at a gasoline station in Quezon City. (INQUIRER PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Oil companies are expected to implement next week a hefty rollback in the prices of petroleum products with the price of diesel decreasing by P3.40 to P3.60 per liter and gasoline by P2 to P2.20 per liter.
“Diesel should go down by P3.30 to P3.40 per liter. Gasoline should go down by P1.80 to P1.90 per liter,” Unioil said .
On Friday, Rino Abad, bureau director of the Department of Energy’s Oil Industry Management, said the price of kerosene may decline by P4 per liter.
Abad attributed the possible fuel price decrease to the decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to no longer reduce their production.
However, Abad said should China decide to ease its lockdown measures, this might drive demand for fuel products and eventually jack up prices.
Last week, firms reduced the price of gasoline by P1.95 per liter, diesel by P1.90 per liter and kerosene by P1.65 per.
As of writing, cumulative adjustments now stand at P14.95 per liter for gasoline, P28 per liter for diesel and P23.55 per liter for kerosene.
On Friday, global oil prices settled lower in volatile trading as price benchmarks recorded their biggest weekly declines in months amid weak economic data from China, Europe and the United States.
US West Texas Intermediate crude settled 44 cents lower at $71.02 a barrel, a new low for 2022. Brent crude settled 5 cents lower at $76.10 per barrel.
Oil prices had found some support and risen more than 1 percent earlier in the session after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the world’s biggest energy exporter could cut output in response to a price cap on its crude oil exports.
