PH fuel prices still easing amid uncertainty
Diesel and kerosene prices this week have dropped further while gasoline only had a slight increase, amid local fuel prices largely continuing to ease, even as oil prices in this region soared anew following developments in the Iran war.
Diesel prices this week were reduced by at least P9.57 per liter starting May 12, while kerosene prices also decreased by P13.30, according to an advisory from the Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday.
Consumers in Metro Manila and highly urbanized areas will see diesel prices fall to P71.19 to P93.83 per liter, while kerosene prices range from P111.70 to P136.70 per liter.
Gasoline prices were raised by up to 47 centavos per liter.
In a Facebook post, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the country’s total fuel inventory is still enough for 50.7 days, as of May 8.
“But despite this level of comfort, let’s continue fuel and energy saving habits. A liter less of diesel we consume or one light less we turn on is truly a building block for a more energy resilient and sovereign nation,” Garin said.
But oil prices rose in Asian trade on Monday while stocks were mixed, after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s terms for ending the war now past its second month. (See related story on World, Page A9)
Trump’s repudiation of Iran’s response to his latest peace proposal raised the likelihood of further violence and disruptions to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it—TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” said Trump, who is due in China this week where the war will likely loom large in discussions.
“We will never bow down to the enemy, and if there is talk of dialogue or negotiation, it does not mean surrender or retreat,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday on X.
“President Trump’s swift rejection of these counterdemands underscores the wide gulf between both sides, pointing to a risk of prolonged uncertainty rather than rapid de-escalation,” said Lloyd Chan at Japanese bank MUFG.
“For oil markets, this suggests a persistent geopolitical risk premium as Hormuz disruptions drag on,” Chan said.
Focus on Asia
The Nikkei was down 0.4 percent and the Hang Seng off 0.34 percent, but Seoul’s Kopsi was up 4 percent, boosted by tech stocks.
In Tokyo, Nintendo shares plunged almost 10 percent after the Japanese gaming giant warned Friday of lower profits this year and said it would hike the price of its Switch 2 console.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was due in Japan and South Korea before heading to China for Trump’s high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping, which Beijing on Monday confirmed would take place Wednesday to Friday.
In Japan, Bessent was set to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday, with Tokyo’s reported recent market interventions to support the yen likely a talking point.
In Seoul, the treasury secretary said he would meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
“Economic security is national security,” Bessent said on X.
While Washington and Beijing slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on each other’s exports a year ago, Trump and Xi agreed on a yearlong trade truce in October in South Korea. —WITH A REPORT FROM AFP
