Prices of petroleum products rose anew after a rollback last week.
Seaoil and Caltex increased per liter prices by P1.60 on gasoline, P1.10 on diesel and P1.05 on kerosene.
Jetti, Clean Fuel and PTT adjusted per liter prices upward by P1.60 of gasoline and P1.10 of diesel.
Today’s price movements were mainly a result of worsening geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) as of February 13 showed Manila price per liter of gasoline (RON95) stood at P71.45, diesel at P61.15 and kerosene at P73.89.
DOE data also showed year-to-date adjustments as of the same date stood at a total net increase of P4.45 per liter for gasoline, P4.30 per liter for diesel and P0.45 per liter for kerosene.
Reuters reported that as of Friday last week, Brent crude futures settled at $83.47 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $79.19 per barrel.
Analysts added in the report the continued threat on vessels crossing the Red Sea is pushing crude prices up.
The report said this week’s price increase could have been higher if not for the reduced global oil demand growth forecast for this year of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The agency expects global oil demand growth to slow down to 1.22 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 or about half of the growth seen last year, driven by the slowdown in Chinese consumption.
The IEA previously forecasted 2024 demand growth to be at 1.24 million bpd. -Jed Macapagal
