Oil firms slash prices; biggest rollback yet

MANILA, Philippines – Local oil companies have slashed the prices of their petroleum products starting Sunday  to reflect the continued softening of the international oil market.

Unioil Petroleum Philippines rolled the back prices of diesel by P1.65 a liter and of premium gasoline by P1.50.

Eastern Petroleum cut prices of diesel by P1.70, premium gasoline by P1.60 a liter and kerosene and regular gasoline by P1.50, effective today. The company said the rollback reflected one of the “biggest weekly movements in the international oil market, which appears to be stabilizing.”

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Petron Corp., Chevron Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines also rolled back prices of premium gasoline by P1.70 a liter, diesel by P1.60 and kerosene and regular gasoline by P1.50-P1.60 a liter, effective Monday.

Prior to the  rollback, the price of diesel ranged from P44.10 to P48.10 a liter, while gasoline retailed between P51.85 and P59.37 a liter. As of May 8, the year-to-date net increase for diesel and gasoline stood at P1.54 a liter and P4.20 a liter, respectively.

According to the Department of Energy, the decline in global oil prices could be partly attributed to “a bigger-than-expected rise in US crude oil stockpiles and reports of a slowdown in the American labor market, sparking fears of falling demand in the world’s top oil consumer.” Amy R. Remo