BIG-TIME ROLLBACK: P2/liter price cut on gas, P0.90 on diesel

Updated October 21, 2018, 12:04 AM By Myrna Velasco

https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/10/20/big-time-rollback-p2liter-price-cut-on-gas-p0-90-on-diesel/

As global prices went down sharply in the past trading week, the cost of gasoline was rolled back to a hefty P2 per liter starting Saturday.

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. led the price cut ahead of the pack starting 6 a.m. yesterday. Petro Gazz and Unioil are expected to reduce gasoline prices effective 6 a.m. Sunday.

Pump prices of diesel products, on the other hand, were similarly reduced by P0.90 per liter, according to the pricing advisories of the oil companies.

The other industry players have yet to send pricing adjustment notices to the media but are expected to follow the rollback wagon.

Last week’s Dubai crude had softened to the level of US$80 per barrel after reaching US$85 per barrel in the past two weeks.

For Filipino consumers, the big-time rollback is a much-needed financial relief after 10 weeks of price hikes.

Dubai crude, the benchmark for Asian oil markets, has been inching up compared to Brent crude which softened to around US$79 per barrel last week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), meanwhile went lower to the level of US$69 per barrel.

Global market forecasts have been mixed in the past weeks – with the oil producers signaling a menacing price climb to US$100 per barrel. Investment banks Barclays and Gold Sachs doubted the prognosis instead pointing to a lower price average of US$70 per barrel.

Despite the spate of geopolitical tension, including in Saudi Arabia which is the world’s biggest oil producer, markets seemed unperturbed as the US pumped in crude inventories higher by as much as 20 million barrels.

Amid the forthcoming sanctions on Iran this November, global experts indicated that the market appeared to have “cooled” on that strain already – although many are still wary on the impact of the trade war between the United States and China.

For a market like the Philippines that is generally dependent on imports, its vulnerabilities to price swings will invariably be perceptible.

This week’s price rollbacks in particular may also weigh down on the plan of the government to import diesel from Singapore, as the downtrend in prices may already negate part of the cost discounts it has been dangling to the public.