Oil firms slash prices in time for holiday

ROLLBACK. Local oil companies slashed prices of petroleum products. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Local oil companies are set to slash the prices of local petroleum products starting early Monday morning to reflect the drastic drop in oil prices in the international market.

Effective 12:01 a.m. Monday, Petron Corp. will cut the prices of premium gasoline by a hefty P2.15 a liter, regular gasoline by P1.70 a liter and diesel and kerosene by P1.35 a liter.

Independent player Eastern Petroleum, meanwhile, will implement a rollback of P2 a liter for premium gasoline, P1.75  for regular gasoline and P1.35 for diesel and kerosene.

The latest price rollback, according to Eastern Petroleum chair Fernando Martinez, was due to the negative sentiments of traders owing to the slow economic recovery in Europe and the United States. This adjustment bodes well for “motorists heading out for a very long weekend vacation starting Thursday,” Martinez said.

Last week, oil firms slashed prices of premium gasoline by 90 centavos a liter, regular gasoline by 40 centavos a liter, diesel by 35 centavos a liter and kerosene by 25 centavos a liter.

Based on a report by the Department of Energy, oil prices seesawed early this month as traders tried to gauge the strength of global oil demand, while watching developments in Syria and looking out for signs of supply disruptions from the Middle East.