Diesel prices down by Tuesday, gasoline flat; LPG prices rolled back

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Fuel prices have remained soft despite short-lived speculation last week on whether oil exporting countries would cut output to defend oil prices.

Household fuel kicked off adjustments with a sizeable cut for the month of December. Isla LPG Corp. trimmed the price of Solane-branded household LPG by P1.20 per kilogram at 12:01 a.m. December 1. Petron said separately that it imposed a P1.20 per kilogram rollback on household LPG and a P0.65 per liter cut on auto LPG starting December 1.

Household LPG prices have dropped by about P9 per kilogram this year, Energy Undersecretary Zenaida Monsada said in an interview.

On motor fuel, major retailers Petron, Shell, and Chevron has announced they will implement price rollbacks on diesel by P0.50 per liter and on kerosene by P0.75 per liter starting 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, December 2.

Minor oil player Seaoil has also announced it will impose similar price adjustments for diesel and kerosene at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

PTT Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum, also minor oil players, will decrease the price of diesel by P0.50 per liter from 12:01 a.m. and by 6 a.m., respectively, on Tuesday. PTT Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum do not sell kerosene products.

Companies said this would reflect movements in the prices of refined petroleum products in the international market.

This week’s rollback kept the year-to-date net decrease for gasoline at P8.24/liter and brought price cuts for diesel to P9.88/liter.

Monsada said there was a short period of price speculation last week that oil exporting countries might hold back production to keep oil prices from further declines. However, this group of countries under OPEC was unable to agree to cut production (some say because most are strapped for cash), which kept prices on a downward trend.