Oil prices are down for the third consecutive week.
Seaoil and Caltex reduced per liter prices by P0.75 on gasoline, P0.65 on diesel and P0.60 on kerosene.
Jetti and PTT also adjusted per liter prices downward by P0.75 on gasoline and P0.65 on diesel.
Today’s price rollback is the fourth consecutive for diesel and kerosene but third for gasoline.
The price cut is mainly due to investors’ worries on global oil demand amid weak data from both the United States and Asia.
Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) as of November 16 showed Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) stood at P71.90, diesel at P61.55 and kerosene at P73.06.
DOE data also showed year-to-date adjustments as of November 14 stood at a total net increase of P13.05 per liter for gasoline, P6.35 per liter for diesel and P1.69 per liter for kerosene.
Reuters reported as of Friday last week, Brent crude futures settled at $80.61 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $75.89 per barrel.
The report said labor market conditions in the US continued to ease at the same time when motor vehicle purchases dropped while China has suffered a weakened industrial fuel demand and narrowed refining margins.
Analysts said the drop in global crude prices could have been higher if not for the US government’s imposition of sanctions on maritime companies and vessels for shipping Russian fuel that is sold above the Group of Seven’s price cap.
Traders are also wary on whether or not the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will decide to implement additional oil supply cuts when the group meets later this month.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia and Russia expressed support for OPEC to continue its supply cuts.
Rino Abad, director of the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, earlier said there is a “big chance” for oil prices to go down until the end of the year pending OPEC’s production decisions.
