Gas prices up anew
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2019 06:35:18 +0000
With wildly gyrating prices in the world market, Filipino consumers would need to brace anew for price hikes this week – with the cost of gasoline at the pumps anticipated rising by P0.70 to P0.80 per liter.
The expected price hikes for diesel products are seen hovering at P0.10 to P0.20 per liter, although industry players have cautioned that the initial calculation may still change depending on the outcome of Friday’s international trading.
Since the start of the year, prices at domestic pumps are generally rising because of various geopolitical factors exerting upward pressure on international cost swings – and for an import-dependent country like the Philippines, it cannot really do as much to shield its deregulated oil market from price volatilities.
Given this inescapable scenario, the Department of Energy (DoE) is incessantly appealing to Filipino consumers to resort to energy efficiency as well as conservation so they can avoid getting their pockets ripped with the incessantly escalating prices at the pumps.
Producers within the enclave of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia have been strictly adhering to their committed production cuts of 1.2 million barrels per day.
Biggest oil producer Saudi Arabia is even going deeper than its committed output cut, as it has taken upon itself to reduce output by as much as 336,000 barrels per day for March alone, and that is seen climbing to as high as 635,000 barrels per day next month.
Trimmed production of the Vienna alliance is seen lasting until June – when OPEC and the Russia-led producers will meet again to decide whether or not to continue such market rebalancing strategy for the global oil markets.
Within Asian markets, the scheduled shutdowns of refineries – primarily in China and Japan, are anticipated to tighten supply, thus, causing upward pressure on prices. (Myrna Velasco)