Oil firms cut pump prices

MANILA, Philippines - After raising oil prices last week, local petroleum players are expected to cut pump prices this week, with Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. making the first announcement yesterday.

In an advisory, Shell said the price cuts took effect midnight last night. It implemented the following price rollbacks: P0.15 per liter for gasoline, P0.30 per liter for kerosene, and P0.35 per liter for diesel.

Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner, also issued a similar announcement and said that the price rollbacks “reflect price movements in the international oil market.”

Last week, oil firms raised prices by P0.50 per liter for diesel and kerosene and P0.10 per liter for gasoline.

In its latest oil price monitoring report, the Department of Energy (DOE) said oil prices moved higher, prompted by the standoff between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.

“Market jitters eased even as leaders of the 28-nation European Union met in Brussels to decide on whether to impose sanctions against Russia over its military incursion into Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Russia is a key global energy producer and exporter of natural gas to Western Europe,” the DOE said in its report.

In Asia, the DOE said Platts noted a mixed gasoline market following the shutdown of the No. 2 residue desulfurization unit at Formosa’s refinery in Mailiao, Taiwan after a fire broke out on Wednesday. While market analysts reportedly saw a slight uptick after the unexpected shutdown, there was no big impact on prompt cargoes. Also, current stocks are said to remain at relatively high levels.