Local oil retailers have raised their prices after last week’s rollback.
The increase was primarily caused by the impending European Union (EU) sanctions on crude oil from Russia which is expected to further tighten global supply.
As of April 26, the latest average Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) stood at P74.10, diesel at P75.10 and kerosene, P77.95, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
Seaoil increased per liter prices by P4.20 for both gasoline and diesel and P5.85 for kerosene.
Clean Fuel also adjusted per liter prices upward by P4.20 for both gasoline and diesel.
As of May 4, year-to-date adjustments of petroleum products have reached a total net increase of P17.80 per liter for gasoline, P30.30 per liter for diesel and P23.90 per liter for kerosene, the DOE said.
Reuters reported that Brent futures settled at $112.39 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $109.77 a barrel, as of Friday last week.
According to the report, EU members are discussing about ending imports of Russian crude and oil products by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers including Russia ignored the appeal of Western nation to hike output and instead stuck to only raise June output target by 432,000 barrels per day.
However, analysts expect the group’s actual production rise to be much smaller due to capacity constraints.
Amid the development, an American Senate panel advanced a bill that could expose OPEC and allies to lawsuits for collusion on boosting oil prices. – Jed Macapagal
