Pump prices to be hiked ahead of Christmas

Motorists will have to pay more for petroleum products during the Christmas holidays, as oil firms are set to implement another round of increases after several weeks of rollbacks.

In separate advisories, Chevron Philippines Inc. (Caltex), Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Seaoil Philippines Corp. said they will hike prices per liter of gasoline by P0.70, diesel by P2.90, and kerosene by P1.65.

Cleanfuel, Petro Gazz, and PTT Philippines Corp., will implement the same adjustments, excluding kerosene which they do not carry.

The changes will take effect at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, December 20., except for Caltex, which will adjust prices at 12:01 a.m., and Cleanfuel at 4:01 p.m. the same day.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad last week said the expected hike is due to the recovery of oil demand in China, following its economic reopening.

Latest data available from the DOE show that year-to-date total adjustments stood at a net increase of P13.25 per liter for gasoline, P24.60 per liter for diesel, and P19.15 per liter for kerosene as of December 13, 2022. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA Integrated News