Pump prices fall on oversupply

LOCAL oil companies reduced fuel prices this week on lingering oversupply in the international market.

Petron, Shell, Seaoil and other firms shall have reduced gasoline prices by 55 centavos per liter, diesel by 60 centavos per liter and kerosene by 80 centavos per liter at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Independent oil firm Phoenix Petroleum was to implement similar adjustments for gasoline and diesel only also by 6 a.m. today.

Minor oil firm Eastern Petroleum Corp. beat everyone, reducing gasoline and diesel prices by 55 and 65 centavos per liter, respectively, at 6 p.m. on Monday.

Eastern Petroleum chair and CEO Fernando L. Martinez said the latest price adjustments reflected the continuing downward trend in world oil prices.

“Some analysts forecast that the reentry of Iranian crude to the market could push fuel prices to continue its downward trend for the rest of the year amid the price increases noted these days. Some are also expecting the oil price recovery to proceed at a measured pace along with a supply glut in petroleum products continuing through the first half of 2016,” Martinez said.

Analysts said oil prices may continue to remain low amid sustained oversupply. Some said prices were simply not low enough to stop over-production. Unless external investment capital is curtailed and producers learn to live within cash flow, a production surplus and low oil prices should persist for years, they said. Riza T. Olchondra