Energy officials confirmed Monday that the recent trend of fuel price cuts will come to an end this week, as gasoline and diesel costs are set to spike following a three-week period of rollbacks.
Effective 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, motorists will face an increase of ₱2.21 per liter for gasoline and ₱2.66 per liter for diesel. In a contrasting move, kerosene prices are scheduled for a significant reduction of ₱3.53 per liter.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin noted that while prices are climbing, the global market appears to be finding a more consistent rhythm compared to the extreme fluctuations seen earlier in the month.
“The market shows a slight, parang kumakalma na siya nang konti compared to last week and the two weeks previous to that, that the increases were double digits,” Garin stated.
“But now it seems like it’s steadying at a certain pace and hopefully it stays like that.”
Despite the perceived stabilization, Garin clarified that the Philippine government remains at the mercy of external factors, as the country is a price-taker in the global oil arena.
“And that source of the number that we have is based on international prices which is not within the control of our country or even our industry players,” she added.
Beyond global supply trends, the Department of Energy (DOE) identified the local currency’s volatility as a primary driver for the hike.
The Philippine peso recently plummeted to a new historic low, closing at ₱61.30 against the US dollar on April 28, surpassing the previous record of ₱60.74 and making oil imports more expensive.