Gasoline, diesel prices seen to go up this week

MOTORISTS should brace for another round of increase in the pump prices of gasoline and diesel this week.

Citing oil industry estimates based on the trading in the past days, Department of Energy (DOE)-Oil Industry Management Bureau assistant director Rodela Romero said the price per liter of gasoline may go up by P 0.65 to P 0.85.

Diesel, on the other hand, may increase by P0.45 to P0.65 per liter.

For kerosene, Romero said there could be “no adjustment” or a “rollback of P0.10 [per liter].”

“These are attributed to the escalating tension in the Middle East including the attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Iranian missile strikes on targets in Syria and Iraq that added to the geopolitical risk premium; and the OPEC ( Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) forecast on strong growth in global oil demand over the next two years,” the DOE official said.

Oil companies usually announce price adjustments every Monday, to be implemented on the following day.

On Jan. 16, fuel firms hiked the price of gasoline by P0.30 per liter as well as the per liter prices of diesel and kerosene by P 0.90.

The latest price movements resulted in a net adjustment of P0.30 per liter for gasoline and P0.65 per liter for diesel. Kerosene, meanwhile, saw a net decrease of P0.40 per liter.

I n Metro Manila, t he prevailing retail prices of gasoline range from P52.30 to P76.55 per liter, diesel prices range between P51.00 and P67.50 per liter, while kerosene prices range from P71.64 to P83.03 per liter, according to latest data from the DOE’s price monitoring from January 16 to 22.