Pump prices seen rising anew next week

MANILA, Philippines — Motorists should brace for another round of increases in pump prices next week.

Cleanfuel said running trend showed a possible hike of P1.20 per liter in gasoline prices and a P0.70 per liter jump for diesel.

Department of Energy (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau assistant director Rodela Romero, in an interview with dzBB yesterday, affirmed that there is a high chance of petroleum product prices rising anew next week.

Romero said the potential increase for gasoline is at more than P1 per liter (P1.25 to P1.30 per liter), diesel at less than P1 and kerosene at more than P1 per liter.

“The main reason for this is the impact of the recovery in fuel demand or economic recovery of China,” she said.

The final price adjustments will be announced by oil companies on Monday, which will take effect the next day.

Should the expected price hikes push through, these would be the third straight week of upward movement for gasoline and diesel and the second straight for kerosene.

Reflecting the price movement in the international oil market, oil companies last Tuesday raised gasoline prices by P2.80 per liter, diesel by P2.25 per liter and kerosene by P2.40 per liter.

These resulted in a year-to-date net increase of P5.90 per liter for gasoline, P2.05 per liter for diesel, and P3.20 per liter for kerosene, data from the DOE showed.