On diesel price hike possibly reaching P4.10/liter, DOE exec says it's possible

The price hike on diesel may possibly reach more than P4.00 per liter this week, an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Sunday.

Asked by Super Radyo dzBB about some fuel companies' forecast that the price hike on diesel may reach P4.10 per liter this week, DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau director Atty. Rino Abad said: "May possibility talaga na aabot-abot ng ganu'ng estimate ang diesel."

(There is a possibility that the [price hike] may go up by that much for diesel.)

"Ang kerosene, mas mababa pero nandun pa rin sa range ng mga P3, mga P2 [per liter], basta nandiyan sa mga range na 'yan. Ang gasolina lang po as I said earlier (P.10 to P.50 per liter) hindi po aabot ng [piso]... So confirmed na po 'yan," Abad said.

(As for kerosene, the price hike would be lower, but would still be in the range of P3 or P2. The price hike on gasoline, as I said earlier, would not reach [one peso]. That is confirmed.)

Citing industry estimates based on oil trading from July 31 to August 3, 2023, OIMB Assistant Director Rodela Romero told GMA News Online on Friday that the price per liter of diesel this week may go up by P3.40 to P3.60. Kerosene, on the other hand, may increase by P2.45 to P2.65 per liter while gasoline may be hiked by P0.15 to P0.35 per liter.

An oil industry source, likewise, said diesel prices may surge by P3.40 to P3.60 per liter this week, while gasoline prices may rise by P0.10 to P0.30 per liter.

Unioil Petroleum Philippines on Saturday made a forecast that diesel prices will increase by P3.70 to P3.90 per liter on Tuesday, while gasoline will increase by P0.20 to P0.40 per liter.

Romero attributed the anticipated hike in fuel prices to Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a production cut.

"Ang rason na nakikita natin, in a matter of one week, wala namang nababago. Itong mga pinag-uusapan ay mangyayari sa buong buwan ng August. Babantayin natin kung itutuloy ng September," Abad said regarding Saudi Arabia's fuel production cut.

(We did not see any change in a matter of one week. This [production cut] will happen in the whole month of August. We will monitor if this will continue in September.)

Abad also said the movement of interest rates in the US and Europe did not seem to have an effect on fuel prices.

"Parang balewala na ang [interest rates]. Parang wala nang impact... Supposedly, kapag nag-announce sa week na ito, the effect should be next week.... Nalipasan na tayo. Pangalawang week na ngayon," he said.

(The interest rates did not seem to have an effect or impact. Supposedly, if they announce [any movement in interest rates] this week, the effect should be next week. But no effect was seen this past week and it's already the second week now [after the change in interest rates].)

Asked if the price in fuel products will continue to increase, Abad said: "Nandiyan ang possibility na 'yan [na magtuloy-tuloy ang dagdag-presyo sa petrolyo]."

(There is the possibility that the price hikes would continue.)

Abad cited the Dubai crude oil which was trading at $87.11 per barrel on Friday. 

"Itong epekto na ito, 'yun ang tinitignan natin. Bumabalik na tayo sa $70 [per barrel], pero ngayon, umaakyat na ng $87. Medyo malayo ito sa $138 [per barrel] dati, but of course, walang ibang pangontra ngayon," he said.

(We are monitoring the effect of the Dubai crude oil price. We were already at $70 [per barrel before], but now it went up to $87 [per barrel]. This is still far from the $138 [per barrel] price before, but of course there is nothing to offset the price hike now.)

Abad said the interest rate hike would have had an effect on the pricing of oil, given the production cut of Saudi Arabia. However, there was no effect so far, so "may tsansa na magtuloy-tuloy ang [mga dagdag-presyo] (there is a chance the price hike would continue)," he added. —KG, GMA Integrated News