Oil prices seen climbing further in 1st week of February

MANILA, Philippines — Motorists will see yet another wave of oil price increases in the first week of February. Diesel is slated for a sixth straight week of price hikes. 

In an advisory Friday, Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said the per-liter price of diesel may go up by P1.30 to P1.50 on Feb. 3. 

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Gasoline may likewise rise by 50 centavos to 70 centavos a liter, marking its fourth consecutive week of increase. 

Bellas said geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East, continued to trigger supply fears. An outage at Kazakhstan’s biggest oilfield could also disrupt supply. 

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“Diesel and middle distillate prices are up [also] due to rising supply concerns as the EU import ban on refined products from Russian-origin crude could disrupt flows and tighten the physical market,” he added. INQ