Price of gasoline down, diesel up

MANILA, Philippines—Local oil companies raised the price of their diesel by P1 a liter and of kerosene by 50 centavos a liter beginning Tuesday to reflect the latest movements in the price of oil in the global market.

At the same time, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Total Philippines, Chevron Philippines, Petron Corp. and Seaoil Philippines slashed the prices of their regular gasoline by 90 centavos a liter and of premium gasoline by 70 centavos a liter.

Eastern Petroleum will implement an 80-centavo rollback on unleaded and premium gasoline products but will also effect a P1 increase per liter of diesel.

Prior to Monday’ adjustments, the price of diesel ranged from P42.05 to P44.50 a liter, while gasoline retailed between P51.30 and P58.22 per liter.

As of Oct. 24, the year-to-date net increase in gasoline and diesel stood at P7.30 and P5.30 per liter, respectively.

According to the oil monitor report of the Department of Energy (DOE), oil prices slightly weakened two weeks ago, as investors waited for the announcement of the broad-based solution to the eurozone debt crisis.

The death, meanwhile, of the former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two of his sons did not have any major negative impact on oil prices, although this increased the chances of a peaceful new beginning for Libya, the third-largest African oil producer.