Oil prices seen dropping next week

Domestic pump prices are expected to go down next week following weaker global oil prices and lower demand forecasts, according to the Department of Energy (DoE).

In a statement on Friday, DoE Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rodela Romero said the movement was based on the four-day trading in the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the regional benchmark adopted by the local deregulated industry.

“Based on the four-day trading in MOPS, while the cost of doing business by the oil companies and other premiums are not yet included, we will be expecting a rollback in the prices of petroleum products by next week,” Romero said.

She said the expected price rollback is around P0.30 per liter for gasoline, P1.10 per liter for diesel, and P0.65 per liter for kerosene.

Romero attributed the anticipated price cuts to an oversupply from OPEC, Russia, and the United States; the International Energy Agency’s downward revision of its global oil demand forecast; and easing geopolitical tensions that have reduced the “risk premium” in oil prices.

Early this week, gasoline prices increased by P0.30 per liter, kerosene declined by P0.20 per liter, while diesel prices were unchanged.