Oil firms cut kerosone, diesel prices

MANILA, Philippines - Oil firms further slashed pump prices of selected fuel products yesterday amid easing prices abroad, particularly in well-stocked developed countries.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp. and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. cut prices of diesel and kerosene by 85 centavos per liter.

Prices of regular gasoline declined by 40 centavos per liter effective today.

“This reflects movements in the international oil market,” Petron said.

“The market is well-supplied so there are no price spikes unless there are troubles overseas,” said Zenaida Monsada, Oil Industry Management director of the Department of Energy (DOE).

Monsada said last week’s trading price started low, increasing only marginally before easing on weekend.

Last week, almost all oil firms cut prices of premium and unleaded gasoline by 35 centavos per liter. The companies also slashed prices of kerosene by 20 centavos per liter.

DOE data showed that since the start of the year, the net price increase of gasoline has hit 23 centavos per liter while diesel posted a net decrease of P1.73 per liter.

Benchmark prices will likely be affected by the effects of hurricane “Sandy.”

“Before Sandy, the market was well-supplied because they stocked up for their needs for the winter,” Monsada said.

Lower unemployment rates in the US might also prop up demand and prices worldwide, Monsada said.

However, this might be tempered by still gloomy economic news in Europe, Monsada said.

Under Republic Act 8479 or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, oil firms can set the prices of petroleum products based on market forces to encourage competition.

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

However, the government, through the DOE, monitors prices.

For monitoring purposes, the DOE has requested the firms to report to the department any price adjustments.