Fuel prices cut by P1.75 a liter

MANILA, Philippines - As world crude prices continued to fall, oil companies implemented another hefty cut in local pump prices effective yesterday.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp., Chevron, Phoenix Petroleum, Seaoil Philippines and Eastern Petroleum issued yesterday afternoon their respective announcements of a rollback of at least P1.75 per liter for gasoline and P1.55 per liter for diesel.

“Petron will implement the following price rollbacks effective 12:01 a.m., Dec. 14: P1.75 per liter for Blaze 100 Euro 4, XCS, Xtra Advance and Super Xtra, P1.55 per liter for Turbo Diesel and Diesel Max and P1.80 per liter for kerosene. These reflect movements in the international oil market,” Petron said in its advisory.

Eastern Petroleum, an independent oil company headed by Fernando Martinez, meanwhile, announced a bigger price cut of P1.90 per liter for gasoline and P1.60 per liter for diesel.

“We are pleased to announce another big rollback for the month effective 12:01 a.m., Sunday, 14th December as follows: diesel, P1.60 per liter, gasoline P1.90 per liter, “ Martinez said.

Another independent oil company, Phoenix Petroleum, also issued an announcement.

“Phoenix Petroleum Philippines will decrease the prices of diesel by P1.55 per liter and gasoline by P1.75 per liter effective 6 a.m. of Dec. 14 to reflect the continued softening in the prices of petroleum products in the world market,” it said.

The oil price cut follows the biggest oil price cut for the year of P2.25 per liter for diesel and P2.50 per liter for gasoline, which oil firms implemented last week.

Oil prices have been on the decline since June.

To date, oil prices are now at a range of P31.15 per liter to P34.60 per liter for diesel while gasoline prices range from P39.60 to P45.70 per liter.

In its latest oil price monitoring report, the Department of Energy (DOE) said crude prices dipped further this week to as low as $65 per barrel or about 40 percent lower since it started to fall in June on concerns of weak demand and crude supply glut in the world market.

The DOE said prices were further pulled down particularly on reports that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to cut production.

“OPEC fueled the decline when it resisted calls by small OPEC-member-countries, in their Nov. 27, 2014 meeting, to reduce production in order to boost prices,” the DOE said.

In Asia, the DOE said prices were also pulled down by lower demand.

“On the other hand, fundamentals in Asia’s gas, oil and diesel market were supported by lower exports from China, less gas and oil production by North Asian refiners in winter when kerosene production is maximized, and declining inventory levels in Singapore due partly to gas and oil outflow to the west,” the DOE said in its report.