6 oil firms cut gas prices by P1

MANILA, Philippines - Six oil firms yesterday cut the price of their gasoline products by P1 per liter and their diesel products by 50 centavos per liter.

This is the third price adjustment in a row by Petron, Pilipinas Shell, Seaoil, Chevron, Phoenix Petroleum, and PTT Philippines. The oil firms have cut pump prices by 25 centavos per liter for the past two weeks.

Petron public affairs manager Virginia Ruvivar said the latest cut in pump prices reflects the decline in crude prices overseas.

Department of Energy monitoring of world oil prices showed that the month-to-date average price of Asian Dubai crude, the benchmark of oil refiners, is lower by nearly $3 per barrel than the August average.

The week-on-week average of Dubai crude prices is also steady at $70 per barrel while fuel prices are at $80 per barrel as global bourses continue to be weak and investor confidence is dented by the ongoing US-China trade dispute.

Beijing accused Washington of “rampant protectionism” after US President Barack Obama announced additional tax on Chinese-manufactured tires. China then threatened to cut US auto and poultry imports.

The DOE also said the slump was caused by the weakening of the US dollar as the euro and the British pound rose against the greenback.

Gasoline prices on importers’ price gauge Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) also slipped by almost $5 per barrel, while diesel prices went down by almost $4 per barrel.

Analysts said the decline in pump prices was also caused by weakness in the local stock market as investors took profits on the previous week’s gains.