Oil firms drop prices in time for Christmas
Motorists will get a welcome holiday breather as fuel prices are set to roll back this week, easing costs just as Christmas travel and year-end trips peak across the country.
In an announcement on Monday, Seaoil Philippines said that starting at 6 a.m. on Dec. 23, pump prices would be cut per liter by 80 centavos for gasoline, P1.30 for diesel and P1.60 for kerosene.
The rollback comes ahead of the Christmas rush, offering some relief to drivers and households as year-end trips and spending pick up.
Jetti Petroleum likewise announced a rollback in fuel prices according to its latest fuel price advisory. DieselMaster prices would be reduced by P1.30 per liter, while AccelRate gasoline and JX Premium gasoline would both go down by 80 centavos per liter.
Location-dependent
The company noted that the price adjustments would take effect simultaneously with the industry-wide price movement.
Jetti said that actual pump prices may vary by location, depending on station-specific factors, as indicated in the advisory.
Last week, Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said that global oil prices had softened on oversupply concerns, with markets also factoring in the possibility of a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire that could eventually restore disrupted Russian oil flows into the global market.
Bellas added that refined fuel prices were further weighed down as refineries returned from maintenance turnarounds, easing previously tight supply conditions.
He likewise cited expectations of higher exports from China following renewed crude import quotas, as well as weaker global gasoline demand during the winter season, as key drivers of the anticipated price decline.
