Oil prices are expected to go down slightly this week to end two consecutive weeks of price increases, an oil company said over the weekend.
“Expect fuel prices to go down next week. Diesel should go down by P0.10 and gasoline should remain the same,” Unioil Philippines said in its weekly advisory.
World oil prices traded lower last week amid reports of a reduction in the drill rigs of US oil drillers and a drop in the crude exports of Saudi Arabia.
On April 16, domestic pump prices rose by P1.05 per liter of gasoline, P0.75 per liter of diesel and P0.60 per liter of kerosene amid reports of a tight global supply.
The oil firms also increased pump prices by P0.25 per liter of gasoline, P0.20 per liter of diesel and P0.10 per liter of kerosene on April 9.
The year-to-date adjustments stood at a net increase of P7.95 per liter of gasoline, P5.40 per liter of diesel and P4.05 per liter of kerosene.
Traders, meanwhile, are waiting for the results of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ meeting on June 25 in Vienna to discuss extending an agreement to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per barrel around the end of June.
The Energy department’s latest monitoring showed that gasoline prices in Metro Manila ranged from P51.39 to P63.62 per liter, diesel from P41.94 to P49.70 per liter and kerosene from P45.49 to P55.70 per liter.