Fuel price rollback seen next week

Motorists should expect a sigh of relief in the coming week after a series of hikes as pump prices are expected to go down.

Citing estimates based on Mean of Platts Singapore trading and foreign exchange averages in the past four days, an oil industry source said the price per liter of diesel may be slashed by P3.50 to P4.00 per liter while gasoline prices may go down by P0.25 to P0.75 per liter.

“Prices declined this week as threatened US sanctions fell short of the market’s expectations and viewed the economic pressure as a lower-risk path for physical supply than a military escalation, reducing the oil market’s anxiety and easing immediate supply concerns,” the industry source said.

“Prices are further weighed down by signals of a potential return to mediation to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz after Iran said it had resumed talks with Oman, although the physical supply picture reflects a still-constrained market and supply disruption risks remain,” the source added.

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

This week, effective August 25, oil companies hiked the pump prices by P1.08 per liter for gasoline, P2.31 per liter for diesel, and P0.95 per liter for kerosene.

The latest price adjustments, the 34th movement for this year, resulted in a net increase of P54.92 per liter for gasoline, P59.06 per liter for diesel, and P51.65 per liter for kerosene. —VAL, GMA News