Gas prices up next week
With the upswing in international prices, the good tidings on fuel price rollbacks ceased this week, as the price of gasoline is anticipated to go up by 10.40 to 10.50 per liter next week, based on the assessment of industry players.
Sources said the price of diesel will unlikely move. However, if there is a rollback, it will be at a very marginal 10.05 per liter. Or if there will be an
increase it would be a measely 10.10 per liter.
Kerosene, which is another product used by many Filipino households, will have a price rollback ranging from 10.25 to 10.35 per liter, oil firms have hinted. Movement at the pumps are expected by Tuesday, December 11.
The oil companies said they based their assessment on reference data at hand, the swing in Mean of Platts of Singapore (MOPS) as of the four trading days last week.
As of the weekend, they were reevaluating the impact on prices as result of trading in the regional market on Friday, December 7.
Somehow, domestic consumers were able to enjoy two months of financial relief in their fuel expenses – given the hefty price cuts that the oil companies had implemented in eight straight weeks.
Pump prices in the country are anchored on movements of prices in the world market. One benchmark is the MOPS primarily for finished product importers; while refiners Petron Corporation and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation are also taking a look at the price twirl of crude commodities.
Output cutback
Price spikes nevertheless reigned in the world market on Friday, following the cemented deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ally-producers for an output cutback of 1.2 million barrels per day.
OPEC producers had given thumbs up to 800,000 barrels per day production cutback; while Russia-led producers in the alliance committed to reduce output by 400,000 barrels per day.
This is a new round of ‘market rebalancing’ similar to what the Vienna alliance of OPEC and Russia had done during the price crash toward the yearend of 2014.
It was noted that Iran partly put a drag on the decision leading to the output snip, hence, it took the relevant parties to reach only an agreement on Thursday, December 6.
OPEC agreement
In Vienna, OPEC members and 10 other oil producing nations, including Russia, agreed Friday to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day in a bid to reverse falls in prices in recent months, a report from the Agence France Presse (AFP) said.
Energy ministers reached the deal – which takes effect from January 1 but has already sent prices surging on oil markets – after two days of talks at OPEC headquarters in Vienna.
"OPEC group countries are contributing 800,000 barrels per day as a cut, and the non-OPEC (countries) will be contributing 400,000 barrels per day," Emirati Oil Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei said at a news conference.
OPEC and its partners, which together account for around half of global output, met against the backdrop of a glut in the market which had led to oil prices falling by more than 30 percent in two months.
Mazrouei said that three countries had been allowed exemptions from the agreement due to "special circumstances."
"Those countries are Iran and Venezuela because of the sanctions and Libya because of the fact that unfortunately they are on and off," he added, alluding to the impact on Libyan production of continuing conflict there. (With a report from AFP)