Local oil retailers raised prices after two consecutive weeks of rollbacks.
The increase is mainly attributed to worries of a looming tight global supply of crude even if the United States recently released a large inventory as major oil traders are expected to avoid buying fuel from Russia.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the latest average Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) stood at P71.30, diesel at P70.45 and kerosene at P71.16 as of April 12.
Caltex and Seaoil increased per liter prices by P0.45 of both gasoline and kerosene and P1.70 of diesel. PTT and Clean Fuel adjusted per liter prices upward by P0.45 of gasoline and P1.70 of diesel.
The DOE said as of April 12, year-to-date adjustments of petroleum products summed up to a net increase of P15 per liter for gasoline, P25.65 per liter for diesel and P21.10 per liter for kerosene.
Reuters reported that as of Thursday last week, Brent futures ended at $107.92 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate futures settled at $103.15 a barrel.
The report noted the US was releasing over 180 million barrels of crude from its reserves for six months while major global trading houses reduced crude and fuel purchases from Russia’s state-controlled oil companies to avoid sanctions from the European Union.
The International Energy Agency said it expects Russian output to drop as much as 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) this month and further improve the reduction to nearly 3 million bpd next month.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed they can easily redirect exports away from western nations especially that some countries, including India, continue to buy Russian oil at a discount.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would be impossible to replace expected supply losses from Russia and it would not pump more crude despite the current situation. – J. Macapagal
