Friday, December 28, 2007 Roperos: Breathing spell By Godofredo M. Roperos Politics Also
ONE could breathe a sigh of relief at the news story that at least two oil firms, “Petron Corp. and independent oil player Eastern Petroleum announced the cutting back of prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene starting at two p.m. on Wednesday.”
Such information has lightened a little the prospect of the average and low income citizen for the coming year, if such move should become a kind of New Year trend.
But then, the glow may just be temporary after all. Eastern Petroleum’s reduced price will only be good up to Monday, Dec. 31. The reason, if I understand it rightly, is that the reduced price was only for a few days.
Actually, other oil companies are not really in the mood of reducing oil prices until the end of the year, if “market forces do not dictate” it. Besides, there is the question of whether price reduction of oil products would seep down to the consumers.
For instance, only a little more than three months ago, the price of cooking gas from the outlets in Balamban was less than P500 per tank. Then last October, it went up to the P525-P535 range, if I recall correctly. The last time I bought a tank, which was some three weeks ago, the price was already P645. Lord, have mercy on us!
And everything else suddenly went up, as if our outlets have nothing else to do but keep tab on the prices of basic consumer items, and then follow suit with the prices of what consumer products they are carrying and retailing.
The price per kilo of rice that used to be only P23 to P25 rose to P27 to P30. The same with the price per kilo of everything, from brown sugar to hog feeds.
What intrigues me, however, is that while the Philippine peso has greatly appreciated in the past months, the prices of prime commodities inflated rather than scaled down a bit.
Economist friends explained that the appreciation of the peso did not have any effect on our local situation because it did not result from positive forces within our country but from the weakening US economy.
Thus, if ever any of us expects to experience economic breathing spell in the early weeks of 2008, or a let up in the burden of rising prices and further appreciation of the peso, perish the thought.
There is instead a better than even chance we will suffer a measure of frustration over our condition during the early months of the New Year. Or until the US comes out with a definite economic direction, either way.
