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By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo,
Reporter
For the sixth straight week,
consumers were greeted with
higher pump and cooking
gas prices during the weekend. Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell
Petroleum Corp., Chevron Philippines Inc. (formerly Caltex) and
Total Philippines Corp. increased the price of their diesel,
gasoline and kerosene products by P1.50 per liter—higher than the
usual P.50 hike implemented during recent weeks.
In lieu of the increase,
prevailing domestic price for diesel will now range from P44.30 to
P46.97 per liter. Unleaded gasoline is pegged at P51.53 to P54.07
per liter, while kerosene is at P48.65 to P52.30 per liter.
Again, the major oil firms blamed
the unabated increase in world oil prices as well as the weakening
of the peso for their hefty price hike.
For the month of May, the
regional benchmark Dubai crude’s average rose to $119.46 per
barrel from its April average of $103.41 per barrel. The $16 per
barrel increase in Dubai prices is its largest single-month
increase.
On the other hand, the price of
imported diesel and gasoline at the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS)
jacked up to $161.23 per barrel and $130.92 per barrel from the
previous month’s $141.98 per barrel and $118.08 per barrel,
respectively.
Aside from the price increase
implemented by the oil companies—the 13th for the year—small
cooking gas retailers also hiked prices of their products because of
a surge in contract prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) abroad.
LPG Marketers Association
implemented a P3.50 per kilogram increase in cooking gas prices, the
highest adjustment implemented by the group this year. The increase
implemented by the group, which carries such brands as Omni Gas,
Pinnacle Gas, Island Gas, Cat Gas and Nation Gas, will bring the
average price of the group’s 11-kilogram LPG cylinder to over
P600.
The price hike was attributed to
higher contract prices of LPG, which rose to an average of $855.50
per metric ton in May from $812.00 per metric ton in April.
The Department of Energy’s oil
monitoring team has said that the higher oil prices have been
boosted in recent days by especially strong demand for diesel in
China, where power plants in some areas are running desperately
short of coal since certain earthquake-hit regions are relying on
diesel generators for power.
Investors also consider
commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation with the
weakening US dollar weakened against the euro by pouring investments
into the crude futures market when the greenback falls.
A weak dollar also makes oil less
expensive to buyers dealing in other currencies. As such, many
investors believe the dollar’s protracted decline over the past
year has been the most significant factor behind oil’s rise.
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