DOE: LPG prices can go up, fuel price cuts respite may continue

Prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products may spike again next month, but the roll back on fuel pump prices may still continue in the next few weeks, the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Sunday, November 27.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB) director Atty. Rino Abad said that the months of November and December are usually in the impact period of LPG inventory build-up.

“Malaki po talaga ang [chance]. Ayaw kong sabihin na 100 percent, wala pa akong hinahawakan na report, pero malaki ang tsansa na magkakaroon pa rin tayo ng increase,” he said.

“Ang comfortable talaga ako na January, February at March ay medyo mag-e-ease out ‘yan kasi ‘yan po ay utilization period na,” he added.

For this month, the prices of LPG products went up by P3.50 per kilogram.

Despite this, Abad brought up the possibility that the pump prices of fuel may continue to decrease in the next two weeks.

“Malaki po ang tsansa na, again, tumuloy probably for another more week. Sa darating na linggo, talagang nakikita na, may tsansa pa rin na tumuloy ang mga rollback. ‘Yan po ay very clear sa nangyayari,” he said.

“Probably for the two weeks, medyo may tyansa pa but in the long run, hindi tayo sigurado,” he added.

DOE-OIMB Assistant Director Rodela Romero last week attributed the anticipated big-time fuel price rollback to the increasing COVID-19 cases in mainland China, higher crude inventory in the United States, and the price cap imposed on Russian crude.

Citing oil trading in the past five days (from November 21 to 25), an oil industry source told GMA News Online that the price per liter of diesel may go down by P3.90 to P4.20.

Meanwhile, gasoline prices may be slashed by P1.20 to P1.50 per liter.