Fuel price hike seen next week

After a series of rollbacks, pump prices of petroleum products are expected to go up in the coming week, local oil industry sources said Friday.

Citing the four-day (October 16 to 19) monitoring on Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) trading, an oil industry source said the price per liter of diesel may be hiked by P1 to P1.30.

Gasoline, meanwhile, may be increased by P0.70 to P1 per liter.

Another industry source said that based on the MOPS trading in the past four days, the price per liter may be adjusted upwards by P1.15 to P1.25, while gasoline price is seen to climb by P0.75 to P0.85 per liter.

MOPS is the basis for pricing of refined petroleum products in Southeast Asia.

The local oil industry uses MOPS, the daily average of all trading transactions between buyers and sellers of petroleum products as assessed and summarized by Standard and Poor’s Platts.

Sought for comment, Department of Energy-Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero confirmed that there is an expected increase in the prices of fuel products next week.

Romero said among the reasons is the weekly drop in the stockpiles of the United States because of increasing demand.

The Energy official also cited the visit of US President Joe Biden to the Middle East, particularly Israel, in a bid to prevent further escalation of the ongoing tension in the region.

“So if the situation improves, the demand for fuel might increase,” Romero said.

He also attributed the expected fuel price hike to Iran’s appeal to the OPEC for an oil embargo for Israel as well the further escalation of tension following the devastating blast at a hospital in Gaza City. —KBK, GMA Integrated News