The country’s oil firms implemented a hefty oil price hike of as much as P2.90 per liter for diesel effective today (Tuesday) to reflect the movement of prices in the world market.
The price hike ended four weeks of consecutive rollbacks across all oil products.
Oil companies also raised the price of kerosene by P1.65 per liter and gasoline by P0.70 per liter.
The increase for diesel was nearly double the projection of the Department of Energy on Friday.
The DOE forecasted an oil price hike of P1.50 to 1.60 per liter for diesel, kerosene by P1 to P1.10 per liter, and gasoline by P0.25 to P0.30 per liter based on a four-day trading cycle.
“Petron will implement the following price increases effective 6 a.m. on Dec 20: P0.70/li for gasoline, P2.90/li for diesel, and P1.65/li for kerosene.
These reflect movements in the international oil market,” said Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil player.
Aside from Petron, Seaoil Philippines, Cleanfuel, PetroGazz, Flying V, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, and PTT Philippines also raised pump prices.
DOE director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau Rodela Romero attributed the increase in oil prices to “the EU oil embargo, G7 price cap for Russian oil crude, re-opening of China’s economy, rising hopes on China’s demand situation, and US data pointed to slowing inflation.”
On December 13, the oil companies implemented a per liter decrease in gasoline by P1.70, diesel by P3.40, and kerosene by P4.40.
These resulted in the total year-to-date adjustments to stand at a net increase of P13.25 per liter for gasoline, P24.60 per liter for diesel, and P19.15 per liter for kerosene.
Pump prices are adjusted every Tuesday. Prices vary depending on the brand, location, and market forces.