WITH the continued drop in the prices of fuel in the world market, market leader Petron Corporation and independent oil player Unioil on Thursday slashed by P1 per liter the prices of their petroleum products.
The rollback which took effect at 2 p.m. Thursday will cover gasoline, diesel and kerosene, said lawyer Raymond Zorilla of Unioil.
Zorilla attributed the drop in the prices to the continued softening of the prices in the international market.
Virginia Ruivivar, Petron's public affairs manager, said the reduction in their prices will take effect 12:01 a.m. Friday "to reflect the continued softening of the international oil prices."
Ruivivar said for gasoline, Petron already reduced their prices by P3.50 per liter and the third rollback they implemented for August. For diesel, she said, the reduction was placed at P1.50 per liter and the second rollback for this month.
Earlier, Flying V, another independent oil player and a member of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA), announced last Thursday that they will also roll back the prices of their petroleum products.
From US$131 average price per barrel last month, Dubai crude fell to US$116 as of August 13 or a drop of US$15 per barrel.
MOPS for unleaded gasoline also drop significantly from US$135.27 per barrel in July to US$117.53 per barrel this month.
Aside from gasoline, MOPS for diesel also went down by nearly US$30 per barrel or US$27.85 from the US$168.01 July average to US$140.16 per barrel average for August.
Latest oil price monitoring conducted by the Department of Energy indicated that retail price of unleaded gasoline now stands at P56.70 per liter to P58.15; kerosene at P58.80 to P60.76 per liter; and diesel at P55.30 to P58.00 per liter.
The prices of auto-LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) were placed between P31 to P33.56 and LPG (11 kilogram cylinder) now cost between P619 to P671.50.
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, in a press briefing, expressed optimism that the continuing drop in the international market will be sustained and will go on in the domestic market.
"The current trends, such as the reduction of the world oil prices and the strengthening of the dollar, augur well and exert tremendous pressure on pump prices in the Philippines to come down. And that is what market forces is all about - pressure as a result of the interplay of demand and supply," Reyes said.
Malacañang hoped that other oil companies would also reduce the prices of their products.
Presidential Management Staff director general Cerge Remonde said the oil companies should be quick to bring down their prices whenever there is a world fuel price reduction just as fast as they raise their pump rates whenever world market prices go up.
Remonde said the P1 rollback is a welcome respite especially for the fuel consuming public.
"We applaud the independent oil firms for their quick response in lowering fuel prices. It is a sign of good corporate sensitivity to their customers. We look forward to similar quick response from other players," he said. (MSN/JMR/Sunnex)
