MANILA, Philippines - Total Philippines Corp. and Petron Corp. also increased pump prices by P2 per liter for gasoline, diesel and kerosene yesterday.
The two oil companies joined Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Inc., Chevron Philippines and Seaoil, which earlier announced a hike in their pump prices.
Total and Petron said that the price hike reflected expanding regional and global oil prices as well as increases in production costs.
But new oil player PTT Philippines Corp. said it would hike its prices only by P1.50 per liter for both diesel and gasoline at noon today.
Other oil players that jacked up prices by an average P2 per liter are Jetti, Phoenix Petroleum, Cityoil, Rephil and Eastern Petroleum Corp.
Meanwhile, global oil prices zoomed to $72 per barrel, a record high for 2009.
There are speculations that it would hit the $75 per barrel by the end of the week. It was just $68 a barrel last Monday.
Oil prices have risen sharply from $32 a barrel in December 2008. Last year, the record ceiling was at $147 a barrel. – Ted Torres