Diesel prices down by P3.40/liter; gasoline by P1.70/liter

by Myrna M. Velasco

Filipino motorists can tick off fuel budget as one less worry for them this week, primarily diesel for public transport, as the price of this commodity will be on a hefty rollback of P3.40 per liter by Tuesday, Dec. 13. 

Additionally, the industry players have reduced the price of gasoline products by P1.70 per liter, while kerosene prices will go down by P4.40 per liter.

As of this writing, five oil firms that already sent notices on their price cuts. These include Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, Seaoil, Cleanfuel, PetroGazz and Chevron, while their competitor firms are all expected to follow. 

Players in the domestic deregulated downstream oil industry have been adjusting their prices weekly based on the costs swing of the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), a pricing index anchored on the outcome of petroleum commodities trading in the regional market.

Softer fuel prices in the thick of the traffic-stricken Christmas season will be highly beneficial to the consumers, especially so since most are now trooping to the malls or parties as part of the long holiday celebrations.

As of Monday, Dec. 12 trading, international benchmark Brent crude was roughly steady at $76 per barrel – and there are not much significant geopolitical events being anticipated yet to be exerting pressure on prices in the days ahead. 

Last week, even signals of easing of Covid restrictions in China failed to lift market sentiments, hence, the overall pricing trend for spot-traded fuel commodities tracked downward trajectories.

There were also concerns of delayed oil shipments via Turkish Strait; as well as an oil spill dilemma that halted the operation of a US oil pipeline delivering oil from Canada; but those incidents were not able to ignite rally in prices.

At this stage, there are projections that prices may stay longer in the $75 to $76 per barrel range, unless, major global events would erupt and disturb market fundamentals anew – similar to what happened in the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in February this year.

For a heavily import-dependent economy like the Philippines, crashing prices come off as a gainful advantage, particularly at this time when Filipino consumers are reeling hard from the whip of soaring prices of basic commodities.