Shell, Petron roll back LPG price

MANILA, Philippines - Pilipinas Shell Petroleum and Petron Corp. have rolled back the price of their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by P0.80 per kilogram (kg) effective midnight.

Shellane is the brand name of Pilipinas Shell’s LPG business, while Petron markets its LPG business under the brand name Gasul.

The price of auto LPG, meanwhile, was rolled back by P0.50 per liter.

Pilipinas Shell vice president for communications Roberto Kanapi said that the P0.80 per kilogram rollback reflects the decline in international contract price.

As of press time, the other major oil players that have LPG products have not officially announced a rollback but they are expected to follow suit.

Meanwhile, the price rollback of Pilipinas Shell was well within the projection of the LPG Marketers Association.

LPG Marketers Association president Arnel Ty said that a cut in prices by P0.80 per kilogram of the standard 11-kilogram cylinder was likely.

“We’re still waiting for closing price of contract price this afternoon. But based on the price yesterday, where there was a $15 to $17 reduction, we will see a P10 per cylinder reduction for August,” Ty said yesterday.

Earlier, the Department of Energy (DOE) said that LPG prices should be reduced by at least P1 per kilogram in August.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes on Thursday said that world contract prices had been weak in the past few weeks and it is expected to remain depressed next month.

“We’ll see a decrease in the price of LPG, of course, that will be effective in the month of August,” Reyes said.

Weakening LPG prices were brought about by a decrease of $17 per metric ton in contract price, which is set by suppliers on a monthly basis.

Prices of LPG products ranged from a low of P457 to a high of P585 per 11-kilogram cylinder as of yesterday.

Auto LPG prices, meantime, ranged from a low of P18.50 to a high of P31.40 per liter.