Diesel prices expected to go down by P10.70 to P10.90 per liter, gasoline by P5.10 to P5.30 per liter
(Eagle News) – For the first time this year, oil prices are expected to have a huge rollback after 11 consecutive price hikes, with diesel prices expected to be reduced by around P11 per liter and gasoline by around P5 per liter at least.
This big time price rollback is due to the global movement of oil prices last week, when Brent oil futures finished under $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly three weeks last Tuesday, mostly due to worries after China, a major oil consumer, placed nearly 30 million people under Covid lockdown.
The effect of the Covid lockdown in China, particularly in some major cities like tech powerhouse Shenzhen which is home to supply chains for major companies making everything from iPhones to washing machines.
But the drop in oil prices in the world market was short-lived as it still surged to above $100 a barrel at the end of the week as some of China’s Covid lockdowns eased after Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to “minimize the impact” of the Covid pandemic on the nation’s economy.
In an oil price forecast, Unioil said that it expects prices of their petroleum products to drop by P10.70 to P10.90 per liter for diesel, and by P5.10 to P5.30 per liter for gasoline this week.
“Expect fuel prices to go down next week (March 21-28, 2022),” Unioil said in its Facebook post.
Oil industry estimates, however, show there could be a bigger price rollback from P11 to P11.70 per liter for diesel, P6 to P6.20 per liter for gasoline, and P8.70 to P8.80 per liter for kerosene
However, the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued to grip the world oil market.
The IMF, World Bank and other top world lenderswarned of “extensive” economic fallout from the war in Ukraine and expressed “horror” at the “devastating human catastrophe.”
“The entire global economy will feel the effects of the crisis through slower growth, trade disruptions and steeper inflation,” the institutions — including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development — wrote in a joint statement.
Warning that the world could face the “biggest oil supply shock in decades,” the International Energy Agency (IEA) called on governments to urgently implement measures to cut global crude consumption within months.
The IEA also urged OPEC+, the group of oil producers led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, to act to “relieve the strain” on the markets at their next meeting.
(Eagle News Service with a report from Agence France Presse)
