Local oil retailers are implementing effective today a price rollback for the second consecutive week.
Seaoil cut per liter prices by P2.20 on diesel and P2.50 on kerosene.
Clean Fuel and Phoenix Petroleum adjusted per liter prices downward by P2.20 on diesel.
No changes were made in the prices of gasoline.
Today’s adjustments were mainly attributed to reports that major oil infrastructures did not have serious damage from the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.
American oil inventories also increased amid possible bank rate hikes.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), as of February 7, the average Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) was at P68.35, diesel at P64.45 and kerosene at P76.93.
DOE data as of February 7 said year-to-date adjustments stood at a total net increase of P5.10 per liter for gasoline, P0.05 per liter for diesel and P2.25 per liter for kerosene.
Reuters reported that as of Friday last week, Brent crude futures settled at $86.39 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures ended at $79.72 per barrel.
The report said the major earthquake in Turkey and Syria initially sent oil prices higher due to fears that the disaster will seriously damage pipelines and other infrastructure and displace crude from the global market for an extended period.
Also pulling down prices, the report said, is the announcement by the Energy Information Administration that American crude stocks rose in the first week of February to 455.1 million barrels, the highest since June 2021.
The price rollback could have been higher if not for the continued prospect of stronger demand from China, the world’s second largest oil consumer when the country ended its more than three years of strict zero-COVID policy.
