Fuel prices seen to go up next week

Prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene will likely go up next week, according to a Department of Energy official and sources in the local oil industry.

Diesel prices may increase by P4.20 to P4.70 per liter, while those of gasoline may rise by 40 centavos to 70 centavos a liter, according to sources.

Cleanfuel estimated the price of diesel to rise by P4.20 per liter and gasoline by 70 centavos per liter.

DOE Director Rino Abad,  during a Laging Handa public briefing Friday, discussed the expected fuel price increases next week.

Abad said that aside from gasoline and diesel, the price of kerosene would also likely go up by about P2  per liter.

The price adjustment estimates were based on the average Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) trading from Oct. 3 to 6. Friday’s trading data were not yet included in the projections.

MOPS,  which refers to the daily average prices of refined products transactions in the Singapore trading hub,  is used as basis in fuel price-setting in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.

Oil prices in the world market increased after  OPEC +,  a group of  23 oil exporting countries, agreed to cut oil production  by some 2 million barrels per day.

Last week, local gasoline prices went up by 40 centavos per liter, diesel by 45 centavos per liter and kerosene by 85 centavos per liter.

Cumulative increases as of this writing stand at P14.45 per liter for gasoline, P28.95 per liter for diesel and P23.25 per liter for kerosene, based on the Department of Energy’s monitoring.

Trisha Manalaysay, trainee