Consumers will see a higher rollback in pump prices of around P5 to P6 per liter across all petroleum products by Tuesday, the Department of Energy confirmed on Friday.
Rino Abad, DOE director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau, said the four-day trading mark showed a higher decline in global oil prices of around $16 to $17 per barrel compared to last week.
This is higher than the $10 per barrel decline seen during the Monday to Wednesday trading days.
“The P5 to P6 per liter rollback is an estimate,” Abad said, as he attributed the drop in world oil prices to ongoing concerns over US interest rate hikes.
The global supply tightness and recession fears also continued to fuel the volatility in world oil prices.
According to a report by CNN, the West Texas Intermediate fell below $100 per barrel this week amid US recession concerns that could dampen global demand.
Last July 5, local oil companies cut diesel prices by P3 a liter and kerosene by P3.40 a liter. Gasoline prices did not move.
These adjustments brought net increases of P42.90 per liter for diesel, P36.35 per liter for kerosene, and P30 per liter for gasoline since the start of the year.
On Thursday, Abad said pump prices were likely to go down by P4 a liter for diesel and P3 a liter for gasoline next week, as the decline in world oil prices would likely offset the impact of the peso’s depreciation against the US greenback.
From June 27 to July 1, the Philippine peso depreciated week-on-week against the US dollar by P0.56 to P54.97 from P54.41 the previous week.
Meanwhile, concerns of a slowdown in global economic demand also affected oil prices.
On July 5, the oil companies cut diesel prices by P3 a liter and kerosene by P3.40 a liter. Gasoline prices did not move.
These adjustments brought net increases of P42.90 per liter for diesel, P36.35 per liter for kerosene, and P30 per liter for gasoline since the start of the year.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with key Energy officials Thursday to address the continued rise in oil prices. No details of the meeting were released, however.
The meeting came two days after Marcos said he planned to expand the coverage of the government’s fuel subsidy to public transport operators and drivers by including tricycle drivers.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) earlier announced that over 600,000 tricycle drivers nationwide will be receiving a fuel subsidy.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) began releasing cash subsidies for other public transport operators an drivers in March.
The President has yet to name an Energy secretary.
Meanwhile, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. launched this week the first carbon offset offer to the public and its first electric vehicle (EV) charging service in the country.
The launch of Shell Recharge and Shell NBS Carbon Offset Service is part of the steps Pilipinas Shell is undertaking to meet its goal toward a lower carbon footprint and cater to customers’ changing needs.
Pilipinas Shell is making its Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Carbon Offset Service available to B2B Fleet customers and everyday drivers who want to go carbon neutral.
Under the NBS, customers can opt to compensate for the equivalent carbon emissions from their fuel purchase for an additional service fee per liter.