Fuel prices take another tumble

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—There was another round of fuel price cuts this morning.

Petron, Shell and Chevron announced they were cutting prices of gasoline by P1.10 per liter, diesel by P1.35 and kerosene by P1.40 at 12:01a.m.

Oil prices have gone down more than 25 times since early this year for gasoline and more than 30 times for diesel. Internationally, crude prices started at about $100 per barrel level and were now below $70 per barrel.

Because of the continued decline of oil prices, local oil industry players are considering fuel stockpiling and other means of coping with current changes and preparing for the inevitable price spikes in the future.

According to Fernando Martinez, president of the Independent Philippines Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) and Eastern Petroleum Corp., oil players are looking into strategies for minimizing margin losses as oil prices keep going down, including stockpiling.

Some analysts say this could bottom out at $45 per barrel, while others would not hazard a guess unless either the US shale boom slows or oil-exporting countries in the Middle East finally agree to cut output to defend prices. Riza T. Olchondra