LPG prices up sharply by R58.30/tank

Filipino households are up for another financial stress this month, as the pick-up price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) had been up by R5.30 per kilogram or R58.30 for the standard 11-cylinder used for home cooking.

The country’s LPG players made announcements on the upward price adjustment following rise in contract prices in the world market.

As of this writing, the LPG firms that already enforced price movements include Petron Corporation for its Gasul brand; Eastern Petroelum for its EC Gas; and Isla Petroleum and Gas Corporation for its Solane LPG. It is effective 6:00am Thursday (February 2).

With this hefty price hike for a household commodity, the Department of Energy (DOE) has toughened up on its monitoring of the LPG market to safeguard consumers’ interest and making sure that only products that are reasonably-priced and of guaranteed quality would be sold to them.

“Our Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) is closely assessing the global trend of supply and demand, while also taking into consideration other factors affecting the prices of LPG,” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has asserted.

He stressed “we are being more thorough in monitoring the local market because some LPG traders might take advantage of this international market scenario to the detriment of the public.”

Typically, LPG prices in the domestic market move along with the fluctuations in Saudi contract prices, the known benchmark for LPG markets in Asia.

Initially, the energy department indicated that based on its market tracking, the upswing in the global LPG prices had been “due to the increased demand by the cold weather continents such as North America, Europe and even Northern Asia.”

Cusi cited the prolonged frosty temperatures in these jurisdictions, which in part had been attributed to the La Niña weather phenomenon. LPG is used as a heating fuel by these freezing weatherstricken countries. (MMV)