Oil prices slashed anew

MANILA, Philippines - For the sixth consecutive week, major and independent oil firms slashed pump prices to reflect lower prices abroad.

Oil giants Petron Corp. and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and independent players Eastern Petroleum Corp., Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. and Seaoil Philippines Inc. cut their prices effective today.

Petron and Seaoil reduced prices of premium gasoline by 65 centavos per liter while Shell and Phoenix Petroleum implemented a 60-centavo per liter rollback. Eastern Petroleum decreased its prices by 70 centavos per liter.

Prices of regular gasoline dropped by 65 centavos per liter for all firms, save for Eastern Petroleum that marked down theirs by 40 centavos per liter.

“This is to reflect price movements in the international petroleum market,” Petron said.

Petron, Shell, Seaoil and Phoenix Petroleum cut diesel prices by 30 centavos per liter, while Eastern Petroleum lowered it by 40 centavos per liter.

All companies slashed prices of kerosene by 40 centavos per liter.

Independent oil player Unioil Philippines yesterday decreased its prices of diesel by 40 centavos per liter and unleaded and premium gasoline by 70 centavos per liter.

Other oil firms are expected to announce price rollbacks this week given the competition.

Last week, almost all major and independent oil firms slashed prices of premium gasoline by P1.70 per liter, diesel by P1.60 and kerosene by P1.50 per liter.

Since the start of the year, there have been 10 price increases and 10 rollbacks.

Based on Department of Energy (DOE) data, as of May 14, net increase for gasoline and diesel stood at P4.20 and P1.54 per liter, respectively.

Prices of Dubai crude, the benchmark for Asia, eased to $104.50 per barrel on May 18 from $107.86 on May 14 due to worries caused by the debt problems in Greece and Spain.

“When you anticipate an economic crisis more or less you can anticipate a lower demand for energy,” Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug Jr. said.

“At $107.91 per barrel, I see the sweet spot already. There is a possibility it will get lower,” Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said.

Under the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, oil firms can price their products based on market forces so as to encourage competition.

The deregulation law prohibits the government from intervening or influencing the pricing schemes of oil companies.

The DOE, however, requested oil firms to report to the department any price adjustment before its implementation.