Fuel prices poised for rollback next week

Retail prices of petroleum products are dropping next week, snapping two straight rounds of pump price hikes.

“Based on the four-day trading in MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore), prices of petroleum products are expected to rollback,” Department of Energy-Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero said.

The estimated range of downward adjustments are as follows:

• Gasoline - P0.25 to P0.70 per liter
• Diesel - P0.30 to P0.80 per liter
• Kerosene - P0.50 to P0.70 per liter 

The local petroleum industry uses MOPS —the daily average of all trading transactions between buyer and seller of fuel products as assessed and summarized by Standard and Poor's Platts, a Singapore-based market wire service, according to the DOE.

The Energy official said the anticipated rollback in pump prices is attributable to the following developments:

• Concerns about oversupply in global markets as US crude inventories grew by 0.8 million barrels last week and expectations that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia could raise its output and expand market share.
• United States’ erratic tariff policies raised concern about weakening global economic growth and fuel demand.

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

Effective Tuesday, April 29, oil companies raised the prices per liter of gasoline by P1.35, diesel by P0.80, and kerosene by P0.70. —VAL, GMA Integrated News