Local fuel retailers have set price increases for their oil products across the board effective today, Tuesday.
Gasoline prices were set higher by P0.60 per liter, diesel by P0.95 per liter, and kerosene by P0.30 per liter.
An independent fuel retailer said the local price adjustments were due to global supply concerns amid geopolitical tensions.
Seaoil and Caltex will increase the per-liter prices of gasoline by P0.60, diesel by P0.95, and kerosene by P0.30.
Meanwhile, Clean Fuel, Jetti, and PTT 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 am, Caltex from 6:01 am and Clean Fuel by 4:01 pm.
Including Tuesday’s price hike, year-to-date adjustments now stand at a total net increase of P5.10 per liter for gasoline and P4.85 for diesel, but a net decrease of P2.25 per liter for kerosene has been recorded.
As of May 27, the latest monitoring from the Department of Energy showed prices per liter in the National Capital Region were at P52.35 for gasoline (RON 91), P53.35 for diesel and P68.52 for kerosene.
Explaining the high prices of kerosene, Leo Bellas, president of Jetti Petroleum Inc., said the product is a component of jet fuel used for aviation.
“While Jetti does not have kerosene in our stations, this fuel is typically higher than diesel due to the high demand for jet fuel, which is actually filtered and additized kerosene,” he explained.
Today’s across-the-board price hikes mark the fourth consecutive week of price increases for gasoline products, equivalent to P2.30 per liter.
Bellas told reporters that apart from geopolitical tensions, oil prices have spiked as demand for gasoline and diesel is expected to rise with the start of the summer driving season in northern hemisphere countries.
“…Lower regional supply due to ongoing refinery and maintenance and persistently low outflows from China, have further supported prices,” he added.
Rodela Romero, director of the DOE’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, said that geopolitical tensions affecting global crude prices include the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the United States-Iran spat.
Romero added that there were also supply concerns, as production in Canada has been disrupted by wildfires, as well as an unexpected large drawdown from US crude oil inventories.
