Fuel prices climb for fifth straight week

MANILA, Philippines — Pump prices are set to jump once more today, extending the streak of hikes for diesel and kerosene to five weeks.

In separate advisories, Jetti, Seaoil, Petron, Caltex and PTT Philippines announced an upward adjustment of P0.40, P1.40 and P0.80 per liter for gasoline, diesel and kerosene prices, respectively.

The Department of Energy has attributed the increase to recent geopolitical developments that continue to “put risk premiums” on oil products.

Also exerting upward pressure on prices was the optimism around China’s oil demand following stronger-than-expected growth data, which boosted the outlook for its crude consumption.

Jetti president Leo Bellas, meanwhile, said oil prices remained volatile due to lingering concerns over potential US military intervention in Iran.

Bellas noted that tensions abroad would continue to significantly affect prices of refined petroleum products such as diesel, jet fuel and kerosene.

“Worries of tightening near-term supply due to the temporary halting of production at two large oilfields in Kazakhstan and export constraints in the Black Sea are supporting the upward pressure on oil prices,” he said.

With these latest movements, the year-to-date net increase for gasoline, diesel and kerosene prices stands at P1.60, P3.80 and P2.70 per liter, respectively.

Last week, oil firms implemented a per-liter price hike of P1 for gasoline, P2 for diesel and P1.50 for kerosene.