Oil companies cut prices anew

MANILA, Philippines - Oil companies slashed fuel prices again effective today, marking the second consecutive week of lower oil prices.

 Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Davao-based Phoenix Petroleum Corp. cut pump prices by 75 centavos per liter for premium gasoline and 20 centavos for regular gasoline.

The companies also decreased prices of diesel by 15 centavos per liter and kerosene by 10 centavos per liter.

The price rollback was due to the softening in the prices of refined petroleum products in the world market, Phoenix Petroleum said.

Oil firms cut pump prices of regular gasoline by 35 centavos per liter and premium gasoline and 60 centavos last week due to lower international benchmark prices abroad due to high inventory of supply in the US.

The companies also marked down prices of kerosene by 40 centavos per liter while maintaining prices of diesel.

Since the start of the year, the net increase for gasoline hit 86 centavos per liter while diesel posted a net decrease of P1.18 per liter, the records of the Department of Energy (DOE) showed.

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, has the power to monitor prices.

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