Cooking gas prices slashed anew by P1 per kilo

MANILA, Philippines - Distributors of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have again slashed the prices of cooking gas by P1 per kilogram and more price rollbacks are seen later this month if international prices continue to remain low, an industry official said.

“Last week we already lowered prices by P1 per kilogram in advance because that should be for next month,” LPG Marketers’ Association (LPGMA) president Arnel Ty said in a telephone interview.

LPGMA lists Island Gas, Regasco Gas, Pinnacle Gas, Cat Gas, M-Gas, Omni Gas and Nation Gas as its members.

The new rollback translates to an P11 cut per 11-kilogram LPG cylinder.

Last month, the group marked down prices of cooking gas by P5 per kg. or P55 for every 11-kg. tank of LPG.

“If the contract prices of LPG will continue to maintain the $140 per metric ton drop, then we can see a total of P5 per kg. rollback,” Ty said.

On top of the P2 rollback, Ty added consumers could expect another P3 price cut by June.

Oil industry giant Petron Corp., Isla Gas and Total Philippines slashed the selling price of LPG for household use by P5.25 per kilogram effective May 1.

Under the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, oil firms can price their products based on market forces so as to encourage competition.

The deregulation law also prohibits the government from intervening or influencing the pricing schemes of oil companies.

However, for monitoring purposes, the Department of Energy has requested the oil firms to report any price adjustments before implementation.