Pump prices seen rising next week

MANILA, Philippines — Pump prices are seen rising next week, ending a series of rollbacks.

Cleanfuel said running trend showed a possible P1.20 per liter hike in the price of diesel and P0.20 per liter increase in gasoline.

An oil industry source, on the other hand, estimated potential upward adjustments ranging from P1.20 to P1.40 per liter for diesel, gasoline from P0.20 to P0.40 per liter and kerosene from P1.10 to P1.30 per liter.

“There is an expected increase next week for all petroleum products,” Department of Energy (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rino Abad said in an interview with dzBB yesterday.

Abad said prices of diesel and kerosene could go up by more than P1 per liter, while the increase in gasoline should not exceed P1 per liter based on the first four trading days of the week.

The DOE official cited the US debt ceiling issue as well as the continuing problem in its banking sector as the major reasons for this week’s rise in oil prices.

Abad, however, said the increase is expected to be short-term, and could only last up to next week.

The final domestic pump price movements will be announced by oil companies on Monday, which will take effect the next day.

Should the forecast price hikes push through next week, then it will end four straight weeks of decline in diesel prices as well as three consecutive weeks of rollbacks for gasoline and kerosene.

Last week, hefty rollbacks in pump prices were implemented as global oil prices dropped, driven largely by microeconomic concerns from US and China.

Oil companies reduced last Tuesday gasoline prices by P2.20 per liter, diesel by P2.70 per liter and kerosene by P2.55 per liter.

The adjustments resulted in a year-to-date net decrease of P7.05 liter for diesel P7.50 per liter for kerosene, data from the DOE showed.

Gasoline, on the other hand, has a year-to-date net increase of P3.85 per liter.