Diesel prices could plunge by up to P7.50 next week

National

THREE consecutive fuel price hikes could give way to a steep drop for diesel next week.

Diesel prices are projected to decline by P7 to P7.50 per liter next week, while gasoline prices could drop by P0.50 to P1 per liter, according to industry estimates.

The potential rollback on Sept. 29 follows three consecutive rounds of fuel price increases. The estimates are based on four-day movements in foreign exchange rates and the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), a regional benchmark for refined petroleum products.

Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said in a Philstar report that oil prices declined this week on hopes for diplomatic progress in the Middle East war as world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly. The recovery of oil shipments from Saudi Arabia also helped ease prices.

However, the slow progress in diplomatic efforts to end the US-Iran war has continued to keep prices elevated. The closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route that typically carries about 20 percent of global oil and gas supplies, has also kept markets on edge.

Amid elevated oil prices, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday suspended the excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene.

Under Executive Order 125, the excise tax on LPG is suspended except when the fuel is used as raw material in the production of petrochemical products or for motive power. The suspension also covers kerosene, except when it is used as aviation fuel.

The order requires the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC, in coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE), to review the implementation of the tax suspension within 15 days of its issuance and every month thereafter. The DBCC must also submit the review to the House of Representatives and the Senate in accordance with Republic Act 12316.

The DBCC recommended the suspension after the DOE certified that the average Dubai crude oil price based on MOPS over the past 30 calendar days had reached $99.41 per barrel.

RA 12316 allows the President, upon the DBCC’s recommendation, to temporarily suspend or reduce petroleum excise taxes when the average Dubai crude oil price based on MOPS reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel for a one-month period.(MyTVCebu)