MANILA, Aug. 17 (PNA) – Oil companies will raise prices of kerosene by 20 centavos per liter and diesel by 35 centavos per liter effective Tuesday.
In separate advisories on Monday, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (PSPC), Seaoil Philippines Inc. (SPI), and Petron Corp. said they would enforce the price hike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday while Phoenix Petroleum at 6 a.m., also on Tuesday.
But the four firms will slash prices of gasoline by 25 centavos per liter.
Eastern Petroleum Corp., on the other hand, will lower its gasoline products by 30 centavos per liter and increase its diesel prices by 30 centavos per liter.
Eastern Petroleum chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Fernando Martinez said the rollback for gasoline will be effective at 6 p.m. on Monday, while the price increase for diesel will be implemented at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.
He said the reduction in gasoline prices was due to the continuous downward movement of international prices, while the diesel price hike was brought by the slight increase in international diesel and the depreciation of the peso against the dollar.
Last week, oil prices continued to fall as the markets worried that oil production might surpass the demand.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) disclosed that its production had increased by 101,000 barrels per day to an average of 31.51 million barrels per day in July.
The lifted sanctions on Iran also causes turmoil in the market, as traders expect a constant and unending oil glut. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects Iran to bring another estimated 600,000 barrels per day to the markets by the end of 2016.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the American benchmark, has also settled at USD 42.50 per barrel for September delivery last Friday, from USD 44.96 per barrel on August 10.
European-benchmark Brent crude has also fell from about USD 51 per barrel on Aug. 10, to USD 49.18 per barrel last Friday.
According to the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) oil price monitor as of Aug. 11, diesel has a prevailing price of Php 23.95-27.20 per liter, while having a common price of Php 24.70.
The DOE also said gasoline has a prevailing price of Php 38.10-44.50 per liter and has a common price of Php 43.42 per liter.