Retail fuel industry stakeholders are bracing for another round of significant price hikes set to take effect on Tuesday.
Jetti Petroleum Inc. announced that price adjustments are expected to range from P1.50 to P1.70 per liter for gasoline and P2.50 to P2.70 per liter for diesel, based on a five-day crude trading analysis last week.
Leo Bellas, Jetti Petroleum president, said in a message to reporters over the weekend that the upcoming price movement is being driven largely by U.S. sanctions against two major Russian oil producers.
“…The sanctions on Russian oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil, which together account for more than 5 percent of global oil output, have introduced significant compliance risks and uncertainty into the market,” Bellas explained.
He added that the move has sparked growing concerns among traders that global refined product output could tighten.
Meanwhile, Rodela Romero, director of the Department of Energy’s Oil Industry Management Bureau, said the agency’s monitoring also projects an increase of P1.75 per liter for kerosene based on last week’s four-day trading data.
Romero noted that prices continue to trend upward due to signs of easing U.S.-China trade tensions, which are expected to boost global demand.
The expected increases follow last week’s price adjustments of P1.20 per liter for gasoline, P2 per liter for diesel, and P1.70 per liter for kerosene.
As of October 27, year-to-date net increases stand at P16.50 per liter for gasoline, P19.15 per liter for diesel, and P6.55 per liter for kerosene.
Department of Energy data show that from October 21 to 27, average pump prices in Metro Manila were P55.40 per liter for RON 91 gasoline, P54.75 for diesel, and P75.82 for kerosene.
