Motorists may get a bit of relief next week as pump prices are expected to edge down, based on early trading results.

In a text message on Friday, Department of Energy Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rodela Romero said the first four days of Mean of Platts Singapore trading point to a rollback of “more or less P0.30 per liter (/L) for gasoline, P0.60/L for diesel, and P0.65/L for kerosene.”

She stressed that “these estimates exclude the operating cost of the oil companies and other premiums,” and that final adjustments will be set after today’s last trading day.

Global benchmarks have softened

Romero said global benchmarks have softened as investors renewed focus on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and as Iraq restored production from an oilfield that supplies about 0.5 percent of global output.

Industry players, on the other hand, are also tracking the same downtrend. Jetti Petroleum Inc. president Leo Bellas said their monitoring showed a “price movement of around P0.10/L to P0.30/L rollback for diesel and P0.10/L rollback to P0.10/L increase for gasoline.”

Softening trend in crude oil prices

Bellas added that product markets “mirrored the softening trend in crude oil prices, as prospects for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal eased concerns over tight supplies.”

He said Asian benchmarks have likewise weakened amid expectations of higher supply from China and the return of several refineries from maintenance.

However, he noted that currency movements have offset part of the decline. The “depreciation of the Philippine peso by 36 centavos versus the US dollar” has cut what could have been a larger rollback, while freight and premium costs — though easing — “are still elevated.”

This week, gasoline prices rose by P0.70/L while diesel and kerosene prices were unchanged.