World prices push local fuel rates up for 2nd week

OIL COMPANIES will be raising the prices of petroleum products this week, extending last week’s increase after weeks of price cuts for most of the fourth quarter of last year. Diesel prices will rise by a hefty P2.30 per liter (/L), more than three times last week’s P0.70-per-liter increase. Gasoline prices will be up by P1.40 a liter. Kerosene will cost higher by P2.00/L. “Price adjustment only factors the increase in world oil prices and not the second tranche of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Law,” said Eastern Petroleum Corp. in a statement on Monday. Eastern Petroleum will be among the first to implement this week’s price hike at 12.01 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Most of the companies will be raising pump prices at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday. Last week, the per liter prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene rose by P0.80, P0.70 and P0.40, respectively. Before that, only the price of gasoline rose for just one week during the last 12 weeks of 2018. —