DTI: Prices of basic goods stable despite fuel price hikes

Despite the latest round of fuel price hikes, prices of basic goods remain stable and should not go up, the Department of Trade and Industry has said. Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya warned traders not to exploit the fuel price hikes to hike the prices of their wares, radio dzBB's Sam Nielsen reported Wednesday. Maglaya said their latest monitoring showed prices of basic goods remain stable, except for a small price hike in sardines. Even then, she said they expect prices of sardines to stabilize in March. Last Tuesday, fuel firms imposed the latest round of price hikes for regular and unleaded gasoline, diesel and kerosene. Shell and Total raised prices of diesel by 85 centavos per liter, with Shell and Petron also raising prices of kerosene by 85 centavos. Petron raised prices of its diesel by only 70 centavos per liter. Shell and Total also raised prices of unleaded and regular fuel by 50 centavos per liter. Petron raised prices of its Blaze, XCS and Xtra by 50 centavos per liter. Oil firms had claimed the price adjustments were due to price hikes in the world market. The recent fuel price hikes have prompted militants to picket the oil depot in Manila's Pandacan area. For its part, the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) threatened to conduct weekly protests against fuel price hikes. But a Malacañang spokesperson over the weekend shrugged off the threat saying the government has already instituted "concrete" measures to lessen the impact of oil price adjustments on the transport sector. — LBG, GMA News