Fuel prices rise, LPG goes down

OIL COMPANIES raised fuel prices this week as oil prices rallied sharply in international trading on speculation that Russia and members of Opec (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) might cut oil production in a bid to stabilize the markets.

Petron, Shell and Seaoil announced an increase of 45 centavos per liter for gasoline, P1.05 per liter for diesel, and P1.20 per liter for kerosene effective 6 a.m. today (Tuesday).

Phoenix Petroleum, Eastern Petroleum Corp. and PTT Philippines said they would likewise raise the price of diesel and gasoline by P1.05 and 45 centavos per liter, respectively, at 6 a.m. today.

Eastern Petroleum chair and CEO Fernando L. Martinez said the latest price adjustment reflects the current uptrend of oil prices in the world market.

This week’s price increase came after the series of rollbacks in the prices of fuel products this year.

In international trade, oil prices are back to around $30 per barrel after falling to as low as $18 per barrel two weeks ago. Oil prices were around $60 per barrel in early 2015 and $110 per barrel in early 2014.

Meanwhile, oil firms announced lower prices for liquefied petroleum gas LPG) for February. LPG sellers set the price monthly.

Petron implemented a rollback of P3.40 per kilogram for its Gasul and Fiesta Gas branded LPG products effective 12:01 a.m. Monday. This is equivalent to a P37.40 decrease for a standard 11-kilogram household cylinder.

“We will likewise roll back the price of Xtend autoLPG by P1.90 per liter at the same time. These reflect international LPG contract prices for the month of February,” Petron said.

Solane branded LPG was also down by P37 per cylinder, effective 6 a.m. Monday.

Eastern Petroleum reduced its prices for EC Gas LPG by P3.36 per kilogram. Riza T. Olchondra