Substantial price increases in oil fuel products will take effect today, Tuesday, with both gasoline and diesel rising by P1.80 per liter, and kerosene by P1.50, local oil retailers announced yesterday.
Retailers adjusted their prices amid concern over the worsening conflict between Israel and Iran, which has disrupted global crude supply, an independent fuel retailer said.
Seaoil and Caltex will increase the per-liter prices of both gasoline and diesel by P1.80 and kerosene by P1.50.
PTT, Clean Fuel and Jetti will implement similar price adjustments for gasoline and diesel. These companies do not sell kerosene products.
Seaoil, PTT and Jetti‘s adjustments were set to take effect from 6:00 am, Caltex from 6:01 am and Clean Fuel from 4:01 pm.
Including Tuesday’s price hike, year-to-date adjustments now stand at a total net increase of P6.90 per liter for gasoline and P6.65 for diesel, while a net decrease of P0.75 per liter for kerosene has been recorded.
As of the period June 3 to 9, the latest monitoring from the Department of Energy showed prices per liter in the National Capital Region were at P52.20 for gasoline (RON 91), P53.65 for diesel and P68.42 for kerosene.
Today’s price hikes mark the second consecutive week of across-the-board price increases for fuel products, equivalent to P2.40 per liter for gasoline, P2.75 per liter for diesel, and P1.80 per liter for kerosene.
Leo Bellas, president of Jetti Petroleum Inc., said that other factors driving up this week’s fuel prices include optimism about the United States-China trade deal, which can support the global economic outlook and fuel demand in two of the world’s largest economies.
He added that such a scenario also outweighed the downward effects on prices, offsetting the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies’ move to unwind production cuts.
“Falling US crude inventories have also buoyed prices, and Asian gasoline and diesel price benchmarks remained supported amid the summer demand season; outflows from China have remained contracted due to the ongoing refinery turnarounds,” Bellas said.
Rodela Romero, director of the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, said another factor that contributed to the upward fuel price movement this week was OPEC’s announcement that global fuel demand growth may be expected to continue for the next 25 years.
