• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Prices of petroleum products are seen to decrease anew, effective tomorrow, June 23, amid reports of the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz following the interim peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran.
Oil companies announced over the weekend that the per-liter price of diesel could decrease by P8.85 to P11, gasoline by P4 to P6/L, and kerosene by P9 to P12/L.
Exact adjustments will be known today, June 22.
Department of Energy director Rino Abad, in a recent Philippine News Agency report, said that oil prices are expected to decrease in the coming days due to improving situation in the Middle East.
Passage through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted due to the Middle East crisis that began late February, causing oil prices to surge to record-high levels.
In the Philippines, the pump prices of diesel, gasoline, and kerosene breached the P100/L mark in March following a series of double-digit increases due to escalating tensions in the Middle East that damaged several energy infrastructure and disrupted shipping with the closure of the strait.
Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas had said in the report that “the market is already pricing in the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the immediate return of Middle Eastern crude to the market, after the U.S. and Iran reached an interim agreement.”
The signed peace deal gives the U.S. and Iranian negotiators 60 days to work on the final agreement, he added.
Effective June 16, gasoline increased by P1.68/L, while diesel and kerosene decreased by P3.71/L and P0.50/L, respectively. | CGC
