LOCAL pump prices will increase today, Tuesday, the 14th upward price adjustment since the start of the year.
Oil firms announced Monday that they will increase gasoline prices by P3 per liter, diesel by P4.10 per liter and kerosene by P3.50 per liter.
Seaoil, PTT, Phoenix, Shell, Total, Caltex, Unioil, and Petron said they would adjust their prices at 6 a.m. of April 26. Cleanfuel, meanwhile, will increase its pump prices at 8:01 am. Other oil firms are expected to follow suit.
Last week, gasoline products were sold P0.45 per liter more, P1.70 per liter higher for diesel, and P0.45 per liter more for kerosene. These resulted to the year-to-date adjustments to stand at a net increase of P15.45/liter for gasoline, P27.35/liter for diesel and P21.55/liter for kerosene.
Oil firms adjust their prices every week to reflect movements in the world oil market.
According to the DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau (DOE-OIMB), the following global oil market developments are responsible for the oil price increases:
• Russia-Ukraine peace talks are on a standstill, weakening any hope for a resolution to the conflict, and exacerbating concerns of a possible European Union (EU) embargo on Russian oil;
• Ongoing discussions on a potential Russian oil ban. While the EU has not imposed a ban on Russian oil imports, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had recently mentioned that an EU-level embargo on Russian oil was possible;
• The warning from OPEC+ on the impossibility of replacing 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil and other liquid exports that would be lost in the event of sanctions or voluntary actions;
• No Iran deal and low OPEC spare capacity due to various financial and economic factors. Reports indicate that only a few producers could maintain capacity in reserve while raising production. These are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Iraq.
Iran, under US sanctions, has over 1 million bpd that could return to the market. However, Iran would only be able to tap into this capacity if the nuclear talks are successful.