Oil price hike 'likely' next week amid weakening peso vs dollar —DOE

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday said there is a possible increase in oil prices in the coming week, citing the continued weakening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar.

DOE Secretary Sharon Garin said early trends in global oil trading suggest an upward adjustment in pump prices, although only a few days of trading data have been observed so far.

“Mukhang yung trend so far, sa bagay tatlong araw pa lang. Pero mukhang paakyat siya. So baka may oil price hike tayo next week,” Garin told GMA News’ Unang Balita in an interview.

(It seems to be the trend so far, but it's only been three days. but, yes, it looks like it's going up. So, maybe we'll have an oil price hike next week.)

Industry sources also expect another round of increases next week.

Based on two days of trading in the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), diesel prices could go up by around P1 to P3 per liter, while gasoline prices may increase by about P1 to P2 per liter.

The DOE said it is still monitoring global oil market movements and will wait for the final trading results by Friday before confirming the exact price adjustments.

Fuel companies typically announce price changes every Monday, with adjustments implemented the following day. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA News