Oil companies rolled back their prices after last week’s mixed adjustments.
Seaoil and Caltex reduced per liter prices on gasoline by P1.60; on diesel by P1.85 and; on kerosene by P1.40.
Jetti, PTT and Phoenix Petroleum adjusted per liter prices downward by P1.60 on gasoline and P1.85 on diesel.
Today’s price rollbacks were mainly a result of lingering concerns on global crude oversupply.
Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) as of December 5 showed Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) stood at P64.95, diesel at P59.35 and kerosene at P72.89.
DOE data also showed year-to-date adjustments as of the same date stood at a total net increase of P12.60 per liter for gasoline, P5.70 per liter for diesel and P1.94 per liter for kerosene.
Reuters reported that as of Friday last week,Brent crude futures settled at $75.84 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures ended at $71.23 per barrel.
The report said the price drop came after the release of Chinese customs data which showed crude oil imports in November fell 9 percent from a year earlier driven by high inventory levels, weak economic indicators and slowdown of orders from refiners which pulled down the country’s fuel demand.
However, analysts warned global crude prices may soon go up again as the US Labor Department released data showing stronger-than-expected job growth which can be an indicator for increased fuel demand.
Saudi Arabia and Russia which are the world’s two biggest oil exporters, also called for all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the group’s allies to join an agreement on output cuts.
Last month, the group agreed to a combined 2.2 million barrels per day in output cuts for the first quarter of 2024 but analysts said some members may not push with their commitments to cut production. -Jed Macapagal
