Oil firms raised the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or cooking gas by as much as P0.55 per kilo or P6 per 11-kilo tank and auto LPG by P0.25 per liter effective September 1 to reflect the higher contract price of LPG in the world market.
LPG prices are adjusted every first day of the month while petroleum prices are adjusted every Tuesday. Prior to the increase, LPG in the National Capital Region sold from P840 to P1,087 per 11-kilo tank which is used primarily by households.
“Petron will implement a P0.55/kg (VAT-incl) increase in LPG prices effective 12:01 AM Sep 1. This reflects the international contract price of LPG for the month of September,” Petron Corp. said in its advisory over the weekend.
Rival Solane LPG also issued a separate advisory of the same level of increase while Cleanfuel announced a price hike of P0.25 per liter for autoLPG.
Department of Energy director Rodela Romero said Friday the price of LPG will likely go up as the contract price of LPG went up by $22 per metric ton, which would translate to an increase of about P0.55 to P0.60 per kilo.
Meanwhile, Romero said prices of petroleum products in the domestic pump are expected to increase on Tuesday.
Romero said gasoline prices may increase from P0.20 to P0.45 per liter, diesel may have no adjustment or may increase by P0.20 per liter and kerosene from P0.45 to P0.55 per liter.
Romero said the combination of escalating geopolitical tensions and a sudden halt in Libyan oil production/exports sent shockwaves through global markets which influenced the upward movement in oil prices.
She said the market also reacted positively to the US Federal Reserve rate cut cycle in September “which has lifted the outlook for global economic activity and crude demands.”
“But the economic worries in the US and China overshadow supply risks that made prices bearish (last) Thursday,” Romero said.
On August 27, the oil companies implemented a big time price rollback of P1.15 per liter for gasoline, P1.90 per liter for diesel and P1.85 per liter for kerosene.
Based on DOE computation, total adjustment of gasoline and diesel year to date stands at a net increase of P6.90 per liter and P4.05 per liter, respectively while kerosene has a total net decrease of P4 per liter.
