LPG prices down since January

The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has so far registered a net decrease of P6.50 this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Friday.

DOE data show that LPG prices have decreased six times totaling to around P9 per kilogram since January 2013 as opposed to only one increase this month of P2.50/kg. The department said it is closely monitoring the price of LPG to ensure that adjustments are fair and reasonable.

Asked whether there may be additional price adjustments soon, Zenaida Y. Monsada, director of the Oil Industry Management Bureau at DOE, said in a text message, “It’s too early to tell.”

Reports on LPG price trends will come out at the end of each month, Monsada said.

Under the Oil Deregulation Law or Republic Act No. 8479, the pricing of petroleum products is left to the discretion of the private sector. The DOE, however, determines whether the price computations of these firms are “reasonable” based on submitted information.

“The DOE computation of petroleum product prices only serves as a guide estimate of the prevailing prices of the commodity in a deregulated oil market,” DOE said in a statement.

In support of its price monitoring mandate, DOE said, oil companies are required to inform the DOE of their price adjustment six hours before their implementation. In addition, the DOE said it regularly sends out field inspectors to monitor the price movements of LPG in the market to ascertain that they are implementing their declared prices.