A HEFTY oil price hike is set starting today with diesel costs surging by P2.10 a liter, based on separate advisories of petroleum companies.
Seaoil, Petron, PetroGazz, Shell Pilipinas, and Caltex also said the prices of gasoline and kerosene will rise by P1.50 and P1.20 per liter, respectively.
Rodela Romero, director of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau, said last week that oil prices had climbed due to Hurricane Rafael’s impact on the US, which could dampen the region’s output. She also noted the delayed plans of OPEC+, made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, to boost oil production next month.
The energy official said the US Federal Reserve’s plan to impose another round of interest rate cuts also affected trading in the past four days.
“Other contributing factors in the estimated increase for oil prices by next week are the depreciation of [the] peso, the premium added to the purchase of the petroleum products, and the freight cost,” she added.
Last week, fuel retailers implemented mixed adjustments for the prices of petroleum products, with only gasoline recording a rollback. (Lisbet K. Esmael © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
