Oil price hike continues for 7th consecutive week

MANILA, Philippines - Major oil companies jacked up prices anew, marking the seventh consecutive week of price increases and the fourth for the month of June.

In separate advisories yesterday, oil companies Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell, Chevron Philippines, Seaoil Philippines and Total Philippines said they implemented another round of fuel price increases.

The oil firms raised local gasoline prices by 45 centavos per liter and diesel and kerosene by 90 centavos per liter effective 6 a.m. yesterday.

“This reflects movements in the international oil market and foreign exchange rate,” said Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner.

Yesterday’s adjustment followed last week’s price hike of more than one peso for all products.

Last week, oil firms implemented a P1.05 per liter increase for gasoline prices, P1.45 per liter for diesel and P1.30 per liter for kerosene.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said that as oil firms raise prices, the government, particularly the energy department, has its hands tied on the matter because of the deregulation of the industry.

He said that what the energy department is doing instead is to closely monitor the global price movements to see if the corresponding adjustments in the local market are warranted.

“So far, it’s moving with the market,” Petilla said.

Zenaida Monsada, director of the energy department’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, said oil companies have taken into account foreign exchange adjustments, a factor that affects oil prices because oil is an imported commodity.

Transport groups led by PISTON staged a protest rally yesterday in front of the Chevron office in Makati on the back of the series of oil price hikes.

This developed as Chevron yesterday denied allegations that it had engaged in price-fixing, price manipulation and predatory pricing and is now evaluating its legal options against the Petroleum Distributors and Services Corp. (PDSC).

In a statement, Chevron said the allegations were previously dismissed by the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.

The PDSC has asked the Department of Justice to prosecute Chevron

Philippines Inc., owner of Caltex brand, for allegedly controlling pump prices of fuel products.

In a Feb. 5, 2013 resolution, the Makati City prosecutor dismissed the complaint for monopolies and combinations in restraint of trade filed by PDSC against Chevron and its directors in October 2012.