Oil firms to cut pump prices anew

Consumers can expect another oil price rollback next week, newly appointed Department of Energy ( DOE) officer- in- charge Zenaida Monsada said on Friday.

“The rollback is below P1,” Monsada said.

The price cut will be for both gasoline and diesel.

Next week’s price cut, if it pushes through, will be the third straight week that oil companies have cut prices of local petroleum products, tracking movements in the global crude market.

Monsada said the debt crisis in Greece has dampened demand and has contributed to the slump in prices.

In its latest oil price monitoring report, the DOE said gasoline prices were relatively stable in the Asian market.

“As for oil products in the Asian market, gasoline was relatively stable on resilient regional demand. Fundamentals were still being supported by spot demand from India and Southeast Asia,” the DOE said in its report.

This week, oil companies announced another oil price rollback at a hefty P1.05 per liter for gasoline, P0.15 per liter for diesel and P0.20 per liter for kerosene.

Top oil firms Petron Corp., the country’s biggest oil refiner, and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. were among the first to issue their respective announcements.

Prior to this week’s cut, oil firms also implemented last week a P0.25 per liter reduction in diesel prices.

“The total net increase to date for diesel was reduced to P0.81 per liter. Gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas remained at a net increase of P5.69 per liter and a net decrease of P6.60 per kilogram, respectively,” the DOE said in its latest oil price monitoring report.

The common price of gasoline is now at P46.95 per liter as prices range from P42.20 per liter to P47.85 per liter. Diesel prices range from P28.70 per liter to P31.95 per liter with the common price at P29.80 per liter, according to the latest data from the DOE.