Fuel price hike seen next week

After a round of rollbacks, pump prices of petroleum products are expected to increase in the coming week, according to local oil industry sources.

In its fuel price forecast for the April 4 to 10 trading week, Unioil Petroleum Philippines said the price per liter of gasoline may go up by P1.20 to P1.40.

Diesel prices, meanwhile, may increase by P0.30 to P0.50 per liter.

Citing oil trading from March 27 to 28, an oil industry source told GMA News Online that diesel prices may be hiked by P0.30 to P0.50 per liter, while gasoline prices may be adjusted upwards by P1.30 to P1.50 per liter.

Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero confirmed that there was an expected price hike for petroleum products.

Romero attributed the anticipated fuel price increase to “an ease of tension brought about by the banking crisis, supply disruption in Turkey, inventory of US fell more than expected especially for gasoline and distillates, and a sign of strong demand in Asia due to China's recovery.”

Oil companies usually announce price adjustments every Monday, to be implemented on the following day.

Effective Tuesday, March 28, fuel firms implemented a per liter decrease of P0.85 for gasoline, P1.30 for diesel, and P1.90 for kerosene.

The latest price movements resulted from a year-to-date net decrease for diesel at P4.15 per liter and kerosene at P5.55 per liter.

Gasoline, on the other hand, had a net increase of P4.65 per liter.

Data from the Department of Energy's (DOE) price monitoring from March 28 to 31 showed the price per liter of gasoline ranged from P55.85 to P65.85 per liter in Quezon City, Metro Manila’s largest city; diesel prices range from P55.43 to P59.93 per liter in Makati City, the country’s top financial hub; while in Philippine capital Manila, kerosene prices range from P66.26 to P72.20 per liter. — DVM, GMA Integrated News