Diesel seen to roll back, gasoline expected to increase next week

Motorists should expect mixed movements in the pump prices of petroleum products in the coming week.

Citing Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) trading in the past four days, Department of Energy-Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero said that, for next week, the price per liter of diesel may roll back by P0.20 to P0.40.

Gasoline prices, meanwhile, may increase by P0.25 to P0.45 per liter.

“[For] kerosene no movement or increase of P0.10 per liter,” Romero said.

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.

“Reasons for the proposed adjustments are the following: Speculation that OPEC+ will extend/deepen supply cuts based on their proposed output policy; increase is compounded by a storm-related drop in Kazakhstan oil output; softer US dollar and decline in US inventories,” Romero said.

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

Effective Tuesday, November 28, fuel firms hiked the per liter prices of diesel by P0.30 and kerosene by P0.65 after four straight weeks of cuts, while gasoline prices were unchanged. —KBK, GMA Integrated News