Local oil players are slashing their prices effective today, March 17, as global crude costs continue to plunge after posting last week their biggest losses since the 2008 global financial crisis.
This is the third consecutive week of price cut decline.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) asked the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to postpone its scheduled maintenance activities in Metro Manila until after the quarantine period next month.
The DOE said ifafter a thorough evaluation there is still a need to perform maintenance activities for safety reasons, Meralco will make a joint announcement on the scheduled maintenance with the DOE.
Meralco assured the public it will continue to serve its customers and operate 24/7 to ensure uninterrupted distribution of power during the 30-day community quarantine.
Meralco said it has taken all precautions to preserve the safety and health of its employees while also sustaining its continuous operations in the franchise area, noting it will defer its earlier scheduled maintenance activities during the community quarantine period except for those deemed as critically loaded areas, as approved by the DOE.
Meanwhile, the DOE pegged the latest average Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) at P48.77, diesel at P37.22 and kerosene at P40.06, following the rollback.
Shell adjusted downward the prices of gasoline and diesel by P4.25 per liter and kerosene by P4.35 per liter.
Petron implemented a decrease of P4 per liter for both gasoline and diesel and P4.50 per liter for kerosene.
Phoenix and PTT also brought down the cost of both gasoline and diesel by P4.25 per liter.
DOE noted as of March 11, year-to-date adjustments stand at net decreases of P5.10 per liter for gasoline, P6.75 per liter for diesel and P8.30 per liter for kerosene.
Reuters reported that as of Friday last week, Brent crude settled at $33.85 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures ended at $31.73 a barrel.
The report said the rare combination of severe shocks to both supply and demand has caused the crude market to collapse as producers around are preparing for an unexpected glut of oil in coming weeks.
