Two more oil price rollbacks seen this month

Consumers may expect two more oil price rollbacks this month, a consumer advocate said yesterday.

Industrialist Raul Concepcion, Consumer and Oil Price Watch (COPW) chairman, told reporters that oil firms still have "over-recoveries" that should be passed on to consumers.

"Even if oil prices are quite volatile for the past few days, we expect that two more price cuts will happen this month," he said.

Concepcion said based on COPW data, the oil companies still owe consumers another P1 per liter for diesel for the month of November, and another P1 for gasoline.

But Concepcion said they could not yet determine if prices would remain stable next month.

"We cannot say what will happen in December," he said. "There may be an increase in demand due to seasonal needs."

On the other hand, Fernando Martinez, Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) chairman, disputed Concepcion’s claim.

"As far as we are concerned, we have already given what is due for consumers this month," he said. "We already passed on drawdown for unleaded."

The latest rollback early this week may be the last for November, he added.

However, Martinez said there would only be a possibility of another oil price reduction this month if the downward trend on international crude prices continues.

"There are some spikes in prices because of possibility of supply imbalance due to the winter season," he said.

There are some signs of a slight increase on crude prices, he added. 

Martinez said a recent decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut down production might also be taking its toll on oil prices.

"There may be a tendency for prices to firm up in December," he said. "But at least we are seeing stable prices by the whole of November."

Early last month, OPEC agreed to trim down global oil production by one million barrels per day to boost prices. — Donnabelle Gatdula