Diesel may hit P115/liter this week

MANILA, Philippines, March 17 ------ Diesel prices in Metro Manila could climb to as high as P115 per liter this week, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.

Starting today, oil firms will implement price increases ranging from P20.40 to P23.90 per liter for diesel, P12.90 to P16.60 for gasoline and P6.90 to P8.90 for kerosene. “We have set a record with two of the highest jumps in oil prices and we are also at the most expensive (levels),” Garin said.

Pump prices outside Metro Manila could be even higher due to increased transportation costs, Garin said, citing

reports of P100 per liter of diesel in Batanes last week. Petron, Shell, Seaoil, Total, Flying V and Jetti are among oil firms that enforced staggered price adjustments this week. This follows last week’s biggest single adjustment in fuel prices, when gasoline surged by P7 to P13 per liter, diesel by P17.50 to P24.25 and kerosene by P32 to P38.50 after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.

The Philippines has a sufficient fuel buffer to last until the end of April, Garin reiterated. Petron, the country’s only remaining oil refiner, is negotiating a deal to procure crude oil from Russia, Garin confirmed. Through the Philippine National Oil Co., the government is planning to purchase one million barrels of diesel, enough to cover an additional five days of demand.

Revisiting the decades-old Oil Deregulation Law would help protect consumers from global oil price shocks, the Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute said. Over 646 complaints have been filed against gas stations for alleged overpricing and early price hikes, according to the Department of Energy. The DOE has resolved four cases and closed 58 others.

Source: philstar.com