Oil companies carried out a hefty price rollback of P3.95 per liter for diesel effective 6 a.m. Tuesday to reflect the movement of prices in the oil market.
They also cut the price of gasoline by P0.85 per liter and kerosene by P2.65 per liter. It was the sixth consecutive week of decline in pump prices.
The price cuts were announced by PTT Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Seaoil Philippines, Chevron Philippines, Cleanfuel, and PetroGazz.
Sources said cooking gas, or liquefied petroleum gas, is expected to go up on Dec. 1, but they have yet to provide a computation.
The final rollbacks on diesel and kerosene this week were higher than that projected by the Department of Energy but was lower for gasoline.
DOE director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau Rodela Romero said last Friday there would be rollbacks for gasoline from P1.00 to P1.20, diesel from P3.50 to P3.70, and kerosene from P2.20 to P2.40 per liter.
Over the weekend, Unioil Petroleum Philippines said consumers could expect a price cut of P3.95 per liter for diesel and P0.85 per liter for gasoline.
Romero also said last week the price rollback was due to the COVID-19 surge in China, the increase in the fuel inventory data of the US, and the higher price cap for Russian crude by the European Union.
On Nov. 22, 2022, the oil companies cut gasoline prices by P0.40 a liter, diesel by P2.15 a liter, and kerosene by P2.10. This resulted in a total year-to-date net increase of P17.75 per liter for gasoline, P33.85 per liter for diesel, and P27.85 per liter for kerosene.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Inc. said prices of basic goods have increased by 2 percent to 13 percent in the last few weeks as the Christmas season approaches.
The group’s president, Steven Cua, said most of the items with price increases are sugar-related like ready-to-drink beverages, chocolate, jelly, and peanut butter.
He added that more than 20 manufacturers already requested price increases, including non-essential items.
Also on Monday, the Department of Agriculture said consumers could buy cheaper-priced onions at P170 per kilo at Kadiwa stores nationwide.
DA Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Kristine Evangelista said during the Laging Handa briefing that the agency continues to open more Kadiwa stores to help ease the burden of consumers amid the steep increase in onion prices.
“Based on our market monitoring, we saw a spike in the price of red onions.,” she said, noting that they have seen onions sold for P300 a kilo.
She said the DA is coordinating with the Bureau of Plant Industry to look into the supply situation of red onion and determine the reason for the price spike. She added that they have yet to hear from the bureau if a supply shortage exists.
“Based on the inventory of our cold storage facilities, there is enough supply. But by now, we are seeing that the red onions came from the cold storage,” she said.
“But while we are doing that, we continue to open Kadiwa stores so [people]can buy onions at P170 per kilo,” she said.
Evangelista said farmers are looking at harvesting onions in December, and the DA is looking at the harvest volume and whether it will impact supply and result in lower prices and price stability.
She said the department also looks at when white onions—which can no longer be found in supermarkets–will be harvested.
“We are coordinating with them so that our data comes not only from our food supply outlook but directly from the farmers…We are waiting for this [data],” Evangelista said.
She said white onions have their market, and the DA is in talks with institutional buyers for the farmers’ harvest.