Fuel price rollback seen next week

MANILA, Philippines — After three consecutive rounds of hikes, prices of petroleum products are poised to go down by as much as P1 per liter next week.

The Department of Energy estimated a rollback of P0.70 to P1 per liter for gasoline, P0.20 to P0.55 per liter for diesel and P0.40 to P0.50 per liter for kerosene.

The estimates were based on the trading in the global oil market over the past four days.

Oil Industry Management Bureau assistant director Rodela Romero said the expected rollback was due to the reopening of refineries and ports along the US Gulf Coast this week after a winter storm.

“Market considers how US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could affect global economic growth and demand for energy,” Romero added.

Yesterday’s trading will determine the final price adjustments, which will be announced on Monday and take effect the following day.

This week, oil companies hiked prices of gasoline by P1.65 per liter, diesel by P2.70 per liter and kerosene by P2.50 per liter.