Fuel price rollback seen next week
Local pump prices are forecast to go down next week following the perceived easing of tensions in the Middle East due to the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran, an industry player said on Wednesday.
Citing the results of a two-day trading in the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said the figures so far averaged “lower versus last week.”
MOPS is the basis for pricing of refined petroleum products in Southeast Asia that uses the daily average of all trading transactions between buyers and sellers as assessed and summarized by Standard and Poor’s Global Commodity Insights, an independent provider of benchmark prices for the energy and commodities markets.
Bellas noted the “significant drop in prices in both diesel and gasoline” during MOPS trading on Tuesday.
‘De-escalation’
Based on initial data, diesel prices could go down by 80 centavos to P1.10 a liter, while gasoline may see a slight cut of 10 centavos to 20 centavos.
“The decline in prices started with the easing of war risk premium on crude oil following the de-escalation of the conflict. World oil prices further went down after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, reducing the risk of supply disruption in the Middle East,” Bellas said.
‘Holding so far’
The Jetti official cautioned that price movements can still change, with three more days left in the trading week.
“While tension has de-escalated, the situation in the Middle East is still fragile but holding so far. Crude oil prices could be range-bound in the coming days,” he added.
This week, fuel retailers in the Philippines raised fuel prices by P5.20 a liter, an increase that was split into two installments within the same week.
‘Consumer protection’
The Department of Energy (DOE), meanwhile, conducted site inspections at fuel retail outlets in Taguig City on Wednesday as “part of [its] intensified consumer protection campaign aimed at ensuring that consumers receive petroleum products of the correct quantity and quality, and that price increases…comply with the agreed staggered pricing mechanism, amid ongoing inflationary pressures from volatile global oil markets.”
The DOE said if it finds violations, erring oil firms can face suspension or revocation of their business permits.
