Fuel prices raised anew

The country’s major oil refiners along with three small oil players raised yesterday the prices of their gasoline and kerosene products by 30 centavos per liter.

Caltex Phils., Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell also increased the prices of their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 30 centavos per kilogram.

Small players Flying V, Eastern Petroleum Corp. (EPC) and Seaoil Petroleum Corp. said the latest increase was due to the continuous rise in international crude oil prices.

Citing market forces, Caltex said it has increased the prices of Vortex Gold, Vortex Silver, regular gasoline and kerosene by 30 centavos effective 10 a.m. yesterday.

Shell followed suit with its price increase on gasoline taking effect 6 p.m. yesterday.

The latest increase came in the wake of a grenade attack on the Shell office in Makati City, initially suspected to have been carried out by communist rebels in protest of recent oil price increases. Police are investigating the incident.

But Energy Secretary Vincent Perez believes the grenade attack on Shell’s office was politically motivated and designed to embarrass the government.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has ordered tighter security on offices of oil companies in the wake of the attack.

"The incident cannot help achieve their political ends but merely cause additional burden on our people," Perez said.

The latest oil price adjustment was lower than the anticipated 70 centavos per liter hike that was announced by the oil firms last week.

EPC chairman Fernando Martinez was earlier quoted as saying that the recovery of the 70-centavo per liter is long overdue, representing the balance of the P1.30 total underrecovery the oil company still needs to recoup.

Oil firms last hiked prices in March by 60 centavos per liter but Martinez said this was still not enough.

The oil firm official cited an underrecovery of P1.30 per liter for gasoline due to the all-time high $45 per barrel in the Mean of Platts Singapore — the benchmark for pricing finished products in the region. MOPS is the yardstick being used by independent small players in pricing their products.

Industrialist and consumer advocate Raul Concepcion earlier predicted that gasoline prices will go up by 60 centavos because crude prices in the world market had increased by about $4 per barrel.

Concepcion, however, noted oil companies have no reason to increase prices of diesel, which generally is used by jeepneys and buses.

According to oil firms, the regional month-to-date average price of gasoline in March was almost $4.50 per barrel, higher than the February average. They last adjusted their prices last month by 60 centavos per liter and kerosene by 40 centavos per liter.

Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) noted that Dubai crude, which is being used by the oil refiners in pricing their products, hit $31.90 per barrel last March 24, the highest since the crisis on the US-led war on Iraq.

At the height of the war, Dubai crude peaked at $31.18 per barrel.

Average-to-date price of Dubai crude for April 1 to 16 is at $30.97 per barrel, higher than the $30.85 per barrel average in March. Regional prices of unleaded gasoline have steadily been increasing, averaging $44.23 per barrel in March from $39.87 per barrel. Foreign exchange rate stood at P56.11 for the first 16 days of April from an average of P56.30 in March.