Further fuel price cuts set

Oil firms are expected to roll back prices across product classes, starting with household cooking fuel LPG.

Solane-branded LPG will be priced lower by P1.12 a kilogram (for an 11-kg tank), VAT inclusive, from 12 a.m. Aug. 1, according to Isla Petroleum and Gas Corp.

EC Gas-branded LPG will also be priced lower by P1.10 a kg starting Aug. 1, Eastern Petroleum Corp. said.

Gasul and Fiesta Gas-branded LPG will be priced lower by P1.20 a kg from today, Petron Corp. said in an advisory. The company also announced a rollback of 67 centavos for Xtend Auto LPG.

Including this month’s rollback, LPG already had a net reduction of P8.25 a kg since January 2015.

On gasoline and diesel, Inquirer sources said there could be price cuts next week for refined petroleum products ranging from 50 centavos to P1 a liter

One company said specifically that it might roll back diesel prices by up to P1 a liter and gasoline by 50 centavos a liter.

If the rollback for diesel and gasoline takes places, it would be the seventh straight price cut for major refined petroleum products this year.

Since January 2015, the Department of Energy said, the net increase for gasoline has declined further to P2.59 a liter. Diesel prices have so far had a net reduction of P2.49 a liter.

There seems to be no bottom in sight for the oil prices, or at least not in the near future. Energy commodities specialist Platts has reported that sentiments remained weak in the Asian market amid expectations of abundant supply and declining demand.

The Asian petroleum market has also seen mounting supplies put more bearish pressure on the market, Platts said.

Overseas, Royal Dutch Shell said in its report on the second quarter 2015 that it expected to withstand an extended period of low oil prices through spending cuts.

Shell is cutting 6,500 direct and contractual jobs this year as it trims capital spending by $7 billion and operating costs by $4 billion.

Despite lower returns for the quarter, Shell’s integrated business was offsetting at least some of that, and downstream (fuel distribution and retail) was delivering a “strong and much improved performance.”