Diesel prices set to surge as gasoline gets a possible rollback

National

DIESEL users should brace for another price shock while those using gasoline could expect some relief next week.

Based on the first four days of trading in the Mean of Platts Singapore, diesel prices could rise by P2 to P2.50 per liter, while gasoline prices may drop by P1 to P1.50.

The estimates remain preliminary, pending week-on-week changes in freight costs.

The Department of Energy is expected to announce the final adjustments on Monday.

Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas attributed the rally in oil prices to supply concerns following intensified Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and vessels.

“Loadings outside of the Arab Gulf are now threatened as well, jeopardizing Gulf crude loadings and ship-to-ship transfers that helped support regional loadings,” Bellas said in a Philstar report.

Diesel prices have also faced upward pressure from declining oil flows and intensified Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. Meanwhile, rising gasoline inventories in Singapore point to improving product availability in Asia, Bellas said.

Amid global oil market volatility, Camarines Sur Reps. Migz Villafuerte and Luigi Villafuerte urged lawmakers to support House Bill 9367, which seeks to establish a Philippine Strategic Petroleum Reserve System.

The measure, co-authored by Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, would establish a framework for acquiring, storing, maintaining and releasing petroleum reserves during emergencies.

Luigi said the country’s dependence on imported fuel leaves consumers and businesses exposed to sharp price swings, while Migz noted that the Philippines lacks a government-controlled reserve comparable to those maintained by other countries.

The proposal would allow the Department of Energy to partner with private entities to develop and operate reserve facilities.

Separately, Maharlika Investment Corp. and the Philippine National Oil Co. have signed an agreement to assess a strategic tank farm in Bataan.

PNOC aims to begin operations by 2028, with an initial capacity of one million barrels that could eventually expand to 15 million.(MyTVCebu)