April 24 ----- Consumers will have a new round of financial breather at the pumps next week, as oil prices will be on rollback, according to estimates by industry players.
Based on calculations, the price of gasoline products will be trimmed by P1.65 to P1.95 per liter, while diesel products will have a reduction of P0.70 to P1.00 per liter. Additionally, for kerosene products, which is an indispensable commodity for many households as well as for key industries like aviation, the price will be down by P0.30 to P0.50 per liter. Oil companies will be implementing the prices cuts on Tuesday (April 25), and it will be anchored on the swing of prices based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the index for traded fuel commodities in the region.
Prior to this round of adjustment, a monitoring report of the Department of Energy (DOE) has shown that prices since the start of the year logged aggregate increase of P8.95 per liter for gasoline; while there was overall decline of P2.35 per liter for diesel; and P3.35 per liter for kerosene products.According to global experts, the downswing of oil prices in last week’s trading had been mainly triggered by growing fears of economic slowdown, a sentiment that has been recurring in markets since last year.
Industry watchers have been keenly monitoring last week the economic data of the United States, the world’s biggest economy; as well as the interest rate hike being planned anew by its Federal Reserve. It was emphasized that despite upturn in the oil demand of Asian superpower China and reports of falling inventories in some markets, those did not serve as enough development to support any portended escalation in prices.
As of Friday, April 21 trading, crude futures contract for international benchmark Brent crude had been at $81 per barrel, showing a huge drop from the $87 per barrel scale that it hovered at in recent weeks.
The other key factors closely watched by market traders would be the outcome of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting this May, as well as the enforcement of production cut this month that was earlier announced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ally-producers.
Source: mb.com.ph
Comments