Fuel prices seen to go up next week

After a round of hikes this week, motorists should expect fuel prices to go up next week, still due to tensions between the US and Iran disrupting normalization of global petroleum trade.

Citing estimates based on Mean of Platts Singapore and foreign exchange averages in the past four days, an oil industry source said the following are the expected upward pump price adjustments:

• Diesel - P1.75 to P2.25 per liter
• Gasoline - P1.00 to P1.50 per liter

“Oil prices climbed due to a rebuild in the geopolitical premium as prospects for a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran conflict and normalization of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz have dimmed,” the industry source said.

“With the expiration of the mid-June US-Iran MOU and both sides expressing intentions to take a harder line, markets are pricing in the possibility of a prolonged crisis,” the source added.

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

This week, effective August 18, oil companies increased pump prices by P2.49 per liter for gasoline, P3.84 per liter for diesel, and P5.01 per liter for kerosene.

The latest price adjustments, the 33rd movement for 2026, resulted in a total net increase of P53.82 per liter for gasoline, P56.75 per liter for diesel, and P50.65 per liter for kerosene. —VAL, GMA News