LOCAL prices are down for the second consecutive week as global prices remain on freefall due to low demand brought by the effects of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the latest average Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) is at P40.20, diesel at P29.33 and kerosene at P28.72.
Seaoil adjusted the per liter prices of gasoline by P0.20, diesel by P1.80 and kerosene by P2.15.
Phoenix and PTT implemented a decrease of P0.20 per liter for gasoline and P1.80 per liter for diesel.
DOE said as of April 22, year-to-date adjustments stood at a net decrease of P15.07 per liter for gasoline, P15.09 per liter for diesel and P19.75 per liter for kerosene.
Reuters reported that as of Friday last week, Brent futures settled at $21.44 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $16.94 per barrel.
The report also said traders expect demand to fall short of supply for months due to the economic disruption caused by the pandemic as producers fail to limit output quickly to buoy prices.
“The efforts to curtail supply just struggle to even come close to matching coronavirus demand destruction… The rig count was another stunner. These are meaningful cuts and they have come at a rapid pace,” John Kilduff, partner at hedge fund Again Capital LLC in New York, said in the report.
Analysts said storages are also quickly filling worldwide, which could lead to more production cuts, even after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia agreed this month to cut output by 9.7 million barrels per day.
The DOE said at least 10 percent of oil stations nationwide or about 900 of the total 9,003 were forced to temporarily stop operations due to low demand following the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in several areas.
