Oil firms implement another price rollback

MANILA, Philippines - For the third consecutive week, oil companies yesterday implemented another round of price reductions in local pump prices, with independent oil player Seaoil Philippines leading the adjustments on Friday.

The move reflects the easing of oil prices in the global petroleum market.

Seaoil said it cut prices of its premium gasoline and kerosene products by P1 a liter, diesel by 90 centavos a liter, and regular gasoline by 50 centavos a liter.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. yesterday also implemented similar price adjustments of 90 centavos per liter for unleaded gasoline and diesel, kerosene by P1 per liter but no downward price adjustments for regular gasoline.

According to the latest price monitoring report, as of March 4, diesel prices ranged from P40.10 to P43.04 a liter while gasoline retailed for P49.90 to P56.19 a liter.

Flying V also announced similar price cuts of P1 per liter for premium and unleaded gas, P1 per liter for kerosene, 90 centavos per liter for diesel and 50 centavos per liter for regular gas.

Other oil firms, however, have yet to make corresponding announcements.

The latest rollback is the third downward adjustment in a row after oil firms jacked up prices for four weeks straight.

The last price hike was 95 centavos per liter for premium gasoline, P1.15 per liter for regular gasoline, P0.70 per liter for kerosene and P0.65 per liter for diesel.

Energy officials said it was difficult to determine where the trend would go but assured the public the Department of Energy (DOE) is closely monitoring movements of global crude prices.

A party-list group has already asked the DOE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into possible pricing collusion among the country’s oil players.

Party-list representative 1-UTAK chairman Vigor Mendoza urged the Energy and Justice department-led Task Force on Oil Prices to look into possible pricing collusion, saying that oil firms seem to change prices by slightly less during episodes of world price decreases.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, Mendoza, a member of the Independent Oil Price Review Committee, said “a percentage of change in the MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore) and foreign exchange should have exactly the same percentage of change in the corresponding pump prices.”

He urged the Energy department to put safety nets for tricycle drivers in order to help them cope with high oil prices.