|
By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Reporter
Oil firms jacked up their fuel prices once again
over the weekend as oil prices in the international market continued
to increase.
Petron Corp., Total (Philippines) Corp., Flying
V and Unioil Petroleum Philippines Inc. hiked their diesel, gasoline
and kerosene products by P1.50 per liter on Saturday.
Chevron Philippines Inc. (formerly Caltex) also
increased its gasoline and kerosene prices by P1.50 per liter and
diesel by P1.00 per liter.
The oil companies attributed the price increases
to the high oil prices abroad. The regional benchmark Dubai
crude’s average rose by about a dollar from its May average to
$120.50 per barrel in June.
The weakening peso, as against the dollar, is
also causing the cost of oil imports to rise.
In lieu of the increase, prevailing domestic
prices in Metro Manila for diesel will now range from P45.80 to
P48.47 per liter, while gasoline will be pegged at P53.03 to P55.57
per liter. Kerosene is priced at P50.15 to P53.50 per liter.
Aside from their pump products, Petron and Total
increased the price of their cooking gas products by P1.00 per
kilogram after the contract price for liquefied petroleum gas abroad
rose by $57 per metric ton to $912.50.50 per metric ton this month.
The Department of Energy’s oil monitoring
quoted US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as having commented
during his visit to the United Arab Emirates, that high oil prices
are the result of supply and demand factors that are likely to
persist for some time.
Supplies have been affected by low capacity
expansion and declining yields, while demand has surged largely due
to growth in emerging markets. Speculation and the depreciation of
the dollar are likely only small factors behind oil price increases.
|
