For the third straight week, motorists and consumers may have to brace for another big fuel price hike, a Department of Energy official said over the weekend.

DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau director Zenaida Monsada said the unrest in Syria and Iran may be to blame for this week's hike, radio dzBB reported Sunday.

Monsada was quoted in the report as saying the unrest has further jacked up prices of oil in the world market.

She indicated the price adjustments for this week may involve P1.36 per liter for gasoline, and 75 centavos per liter for diesel.

But she did not say what day the price hike may take effect.

Since early this month, oil firms had implemented price hikes, ending 12 weeks of rolling back prices of their products.

The rollbacks since April had been enough to prompt a rollback as well in passenger jeep fares, from P8 to P7.50. — LBG, GMA News