Over P10/L price hike for diesel, P5/L for gasoline seen next week

Motorists should brace for another round of big-time increases in pump prices to be implemented in the coming week, as the Middle East crisis continues to disrupt the global petroleum market.

Citing Mean of Platts Singapore trading and foreign exchange averages in the past four days, an oil industry source said the estimated movements next week are as follows:

• Diesel - P10.00 to P10.50 per liter
• Gasoline - P4.50 to P5.00 per liter

Meanwhile, in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said gasoline prices are expected to rise by around P5 per liter, while diesel would rise by “more or less P10 per liter.”

For kerosene, Abad said the increase would be around P7 per liter.

“Oil prices surged higher after attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, the region’s two most important oil transit routes, further deepened supply disruption worries,” the industry source said.

“Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, a key oil route for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, forced a shutdown of the system and triggered concerns that the loss of Saudi export capacity would severely affect global energy supplies,” the source added.

Fuel firms announce price adjustments every Monday, to be implemented on the following day.

This week, oil companies raised pump prices by over P5.60 per liter for gasoline, above P4.30 per liter for diesel, and more than P4.60 per liter for kerosene.

“Escalating tensions in the Middle East, a top supplier of diesel and crude oil grades best suited for diesel production, and attacks on refineries in Russia, which is another major diesel supplier, have pushed prices to record highs due to mounting concerns of severe product flow constraints and tight availability,” the source said.

“Asian gasoline prices maintained their strength due to firm regional demand and concerns that hostilities in the Red Sea could further curb supplies from the Middle East,” the source added.—AOL, GMA News