Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. has hiked prices of premium gasoline by 90 centavos a liter, regular gasoline by 60 centavos/liter, diesel by 30 centavos/liter and kerosene by 20 centavos/liter.
According to Shell, the latest oil price hikes, which take effect starting Tuesday, were effected to reflect the movements in international product prices during the last week of December.
However, those areas in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City, which have been devastated by storm Sendong are not included in the price adjustment, Shell said.
Other oil companies have yet to announce their respective adjustments as of posting time.
Based on the December 27 oil monitor report of the Department of Energy, global fuel prices are partly being pushed higher by threats to global supplies.
“Rising tensions between the West and Iran over the latter’s nuclear ambitions are raising fears that oil from the world’s fourth-biggest producer may be kept from reaching markets in the coming weeks,” the report stated.
“Moreover, oil traders also are concerned about political instability in Kazakhstan, which exports about 1.3 million barrels of oil per day, about 1.5 percent of world demand,” it added.
Prior to this week’s adjustments, diesel prices ranged from P42.54 a liter to P46.13/liter while gasoline retailed for P47.79 /liter to P55.70/liter.
Meanwhile, retailers of cooking gas have also hiked prices by P3 per kilogram effective Monday to reflect the increase in the international contract price for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
This meant that the price of an 11-kilogram LPG tank has risen by P33.
According to LPG Marketers Association party-list Representative Arnel Ty, the small LPG companies were forced to follow the price movements of the bigger players, from which they source their requirements.
However, the big players, namely Shell, Petron, Total and Liquigaz, have yet to announce their LPG price movements.
Originally posted: 9:33 pm | Monday, January 2nd, 2012