• CHERYL G. CRUZ
A big-time increase in the pump prices of petroleum products will take effect tomorrow, July 21, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Oil companies announced over the weekend that diesel could increase by P9.50 to P10.90 per liter, kerosene by P10.50 to P11.80/L, and gasoline by P3.50 to P4.60/L.
The exact adjustments will be known today, July 20.
This will be the fourth straight week of price hikes, following an increase of P4.60/L for diesel, P2.30/L for kerosene, and P1/L for gasoline, effective July 14.
Crude prices have been on the rise anew, mainly due to intensifying hostilities between and among the US and Iran, and allied countries.
“Worries of supply disruption, tightening product balances as vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz declined sharply, and the US naval blockade of ships to and from Iranian ports have pushed prices higher,” Jetti Energy president Leo Bellas said in a Philippine News Agency report July 17, adding that “the uncertainty surrounding vessel traffic through the Strait, and instability around the vital waterway, are further supporting gasoline prices.” | CGC
