Diesel prices seen going down this week in Philippines

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Diesel prices are seen going down this week to end two consecutive weeks of increases, while gasoline and kerosene prices could remain the same or go either way.

In its price forecast, Unioil said the price of diesel should drop by P0.30 to P0.40 per liter, while gasoline should have no price change or perhaps a reduction of P0.10 per liter.

An oil industry source, on the other hand, also sees a less than P0.50 per liter rollback for diesel this week.

But for gasoline and kerosene, the source said prices could remain steady or potentially see an increase of not more than P0.15 per liter for both products.

The final price adjustments will be announced by oil companies on Monday, which will take effect past midnight the next day.

Domestic pump prices have risen for the past two weeks, with oil firms hiking prices by P2.60 per liter for gasoline, P1.70 per liter for diesel and P1.90 per liter for kerosene last Tuesday.

These adjustments resulted in a year-to-date net decrease of P1.95 per liter for diesel and P3.45 per liter for kerosene, based on data from the Department of Energy (DOE).

Gasoline, on the other hand, had a net increase of P8.65 per liter year-to-date.

In an interview with dzBB radio last Friday, DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rino Abad said the upcoming price movements show that the market is not convinced of a supply disruption as announced recently by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).