Gasoline price seen to go up; diesel, kerosene to roll back next week

Pump prices of petroleum products are seen to have mixed movements in the coming week, according to oil industry sources.

“Magkakaroon ng kaunting pagtaas sa presyo ng gasolina na magre-range sa 45 centavos to P1 per liter,” Department of Energy-Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero said during the public briefing on Friday.

(There is an expected slight increase in the price of gasoline which will range from 45 centavos to P1 per liter.)

The Energy official based the fuel price projection on the oil trading in the past four days.

For diesel, Romero said there is an expected rollback ranging between 60 centavos and 75 centavos per liter.

Likewise, the price per liter of kerosene is projected to be slashed by 75 centavos to 85 centavos.

An oil industry source also told GMA News Online that diesel prices may go down by 60 centavos to 90 centavos per liter, while gasoline prices may increase by 20 centavos to 50 centavos per liter.

Romero said the factors affecting the projected price hike in gasoline was the increase in the demand during the winter season in Northern Hemisphere countries as well as the reported production cut of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries this month and the still lingering Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The factors for the expected rollback, meanwhile, were the fear of the world market on the impending global inflation and recession which could reduce demand for spending on fuel and in turn would cause prices to decrease.

The surge in COVID-19 cases in China, which triggered fresh mobility restrictions, also contributed to the expected price cut as this reduced demand for fuel in the Asian country.

Oil companies usually announce price adjustments every Monday, to be implemented on the following day.

Effective November 1, Tuesday, fuel firms slashed the per liter prices of gasoline by P0.25, diesel by P0.60 and P0.25 for kerosene.

This brought the year-to-date total adjustments to stand at a net increase of P15.85 per liter for gasoline, P36.80 per liter for diesel, and P28.95 per liter for kerosene.

Data from the DOE’s price monitoring, as of November 1 to 3, showed the price per liter of gasoline range from P60.95 to P72.45 per liter in Quezon City, Metro Manila’s largest city; diesel prices range from P75.50 to P80.29 per liter in Makati City, the country’s top financial hub; while in Philippine capital Manila, kerosene prices range from P79.46 to P88.50 per liter. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News