Oil prices down for 2nd week

A bearish sentiment on global oil markets is apparently emerging amid rising crude oil output in the United States, helping bring down pump prices in the Philippines for the second week in a row.

Also, after two weeks of hovering above $80 per barrel, Dubai crude prices look poised to fall below the threshold that the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act states should be overshot for three months to justify a suspension of excise tax hikes on fuels.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, crude oil production in the United States reached about 10.9 million barrels daily as of mid-October.

This was more than a quarter over the output level of about 8.5 million barrels daily in mid-October 2016, when major crude exporters were firming up an agreement to cut back production in an effort to “rebalance” global supply and demand, and raise prices in the process.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency earlier projected that global supply and demand were reaching twin peaks at 100 million barrels daily.

Yesterday, Petron, Shell, PTT, Total, Flying V and Caltex cut prices of diesel by 90 centavos per liter and of gasoline by P1.85 per liter.

Petron, Shell, Flying V and Caltex also reduced prices of kerosene by 90 centavos per liter.

But Phoenix, Unioil and Seaoil, went ahead during the weekend with the same decrease for diesel but P2 per liter for gasoline.

Based on monitoring by the Department of Energy, the latest round of hikes brought the price of diesel in Metro Manila to within the range of P45.05 to P50.29 a liter.

A liter of gasoline with an octane rating of 95 is now in the range of P51.40 to P61.54 while a liter of kerosene is now at P50.07 to P60.20.

So far this year, prices of diesel have gone down 13 times but have gone up 29 times, resulting in a net increase of P13.40 per liter.

Also, prices of gasoline have gone down 12 times but have gone up 30 times for a net increase of P11.67 per liter.