Gasoline rollback set Tuesday; diesel, kerosene up for 2nd straight week

Motorists will face mixed pump price movements this week, as fuel retailers are set to roll back gasoline prices while hiking diesel and kerosene for the second straight week.

In separate advisories, Chevron Philippines Inc. (Caltex), Petron Corp., Seaoil Philippines Corp. and Shell Pilipinas Corp. said they will roll back prices per liter of gasoline by P0.10, while hiking those of diesel by P0.20, and kerosene by P0.10.

Cleanfuel, Petro Gazz, PTT Philippines Corp., and Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc. will implement the same changes, excluding kerosene which they do not carry.

The adjustments will take effect at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, January 6, for all the firms except for Cleanfuel which will implement the changes at 4:01 p.m. the same day.

Other firms have yet to make similar announcements for the week.

The Department of Energy-Oil Industry Management Bureau (DOE-OIMB) last Friday projected rollbacks for this week, citing easing geopolitical risks, expectations of a global oversupply, and weak demand expectations.

This did not factor in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces, forcing state-run oil company PDVSA to cut crude production as it is running out of storage capacity due to an ongoing US blockade.

Firms last week kept prices per liter of gasoline unchanged, while hiking those of diesel and kerosene by P0.60. —AOL/RF, GMA Integrated News