Higher diesel, gasoline prices seen this week

Gasoline and diesel prices are expected to increase by about P1 a liter this week, driven by international market price speculation due to unrest in Syria, according to the Department of Energy.

Zenaida Y. Monsada, director of the oil industry management bureau at the DOE, told reporters at a power industry forum that there might be a more than P1-a-liter increase for diesel and a little less than P1 increase for gasoline prices.

“Last week, factors affecting prices point to a net effect of some adjustments. One factor is that the dollar strengthened a lot. The impact of a dollar change is even bigger than the price of oil in the international market,” Monsada said.

The impact of foreign exchange alone was P0.80 a liter, without including the price increases in the actual products, she said.

Asked if motorists should be filling up at the pumps, Monsada said it would be a good idea due to price pressures. Riza T. Olchondra