Of oil rollbacks, mining & flour prices

According to IDEA’s latest report, after initially refusing to further cut fuel prices, oil firms have decided to roll back prices, claiming that they were due to market forces.

Seaoil Philippines, Inc. led the rollback, cutting down P1 per liter on gasoline, diesel and kerosene and P0.75 per liter on gasoline-ethanol blend. The big three-Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp. and Chevron Corp., and the independent players Eastern Petroleum Corp. and Flying V followed suit.

World oil prices continue to fall with Dubai crude at $82 per barrel from previous month’s average of $95 per barrel, while imported diesel posted at $104 per barrel from $121. Imported gasoline also fell from last month’s $107 per barrel to $96. Again, oil firms have rolled back prices by P1/liter on gasoline, diesel and kerosene due to declining prices in the world oil market.  Dubai, crude oil prices has fallen to $78 per barrel from September's $96.  Imported diesel posted $97 per barrel from last months $121 while imported gasoline posted $92 from September's $107.

While on the corporate sector, it was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the creation of Sunrise Coast Mining Corp. whose primary shareholders include the Araneta clan. The firm’s major shareholders include Janet Anne B. Araneta and Tristan L. Sintos with 300,000 shares each, and EMIR Mineral Resources Corp. (EMRP) with 299,999 shares. The mining firm plans to extract chromite, manganese, copper, and gold from four sites in Northern Luzon, Eastern Visayas, and the CARAGA region.

Lastly, the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines calls for government support in the face of global economic downturn that has greatly hit the US, which is the industry’s major export market. The group has presented several proposals such as extensive industry promotion, curriculum improvements that will equip graduates with skills required for the industry, lower power costs, infrastructure spending, and more conducive business environment.

Furthermore, the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as the Philippine Baking Industry Group (Philbaking) and the Philippine Association of Flour Millers confirmed that prices of bread will not increase at least until the end of the year and may even go down with respect to the price trend. However, the Philippine Association of Flour Millers said that despite the lower wheat price, they could not easily roll back flour prices due to import costs, according to IDEA.

Incidentally, NewsBriefs is a regular digest produced by the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, Inc. (IDEA) whose Chairman, Dr. Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr., is my former President/CEO. IDEA’s NewsBriefs’ purpose is to highlight the most recent national and international economic events. 

For credit & collection (C&C) questions, comments and rejoinders you want to share or inquire, you can reach him at 0917-7220521 or at [email protected]