Oil price cuts seen next week  

MANILA, Philippines —  Pump prices are expected to go down significantly next week following a series of price hikes.

Cleanfuel said running trend showed a potential P1.90 per liter decline in gasoline prices and a P2.35 per liter decrease for diesel.

In an interview with dzBB yesterday, Department of Energy (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rino Abad said there is a high chance that motorists would see a rollback next week. 

Based on the first four trading days, Abad estimates the decrease in gasoline to reach P2 per liter, or even more than P2 per liter.

For diesel, he said the rollback would surely be higher than P2 per liter, probably near the P3 range. Kerosene is also seen declining by around P2.50 per liter.

“Globally, there is really a trend of decline in (oil) demand for the first quarter, which will pick up slightly by the second quarter, and then full blast demand on the third and fourth quarters,” Abad said.

He said among the factors for the lower prices are the implementation of another round of interest rate hike in the US, as well as China’s recovery. 

“So, the market is on a ‘wait and see’ mode on what will happen with China. As much as they want to return, there is that risk and it is evident that COVID cases are surging,” Abad said.

The final price adjustments will be announced by oil companies on Monday, which will take effect the next day.

The expected price rollbacks, should they push through, would end three straight weeks of upward movement for gasoline and diesel, and two consecutive weeks of increases for kerosene.

Last Tuesday, oil companies raised gasoline prices by P1.30 per liter, diesel by P1 per liter and kerosene by P1.35 per liter.

These resulted in a total year-to-date net increase of P7.20 per liter for gasoline, P3.05 per liter for diesel and P4.45 per liter for kerosene, data from the DOE showed.