(Eagle News) – Another oil price hike will take effect on Tuesday, March 8, the biggest hike in oil prices this year
Diesel prices will rise by 5.85 per liter, while gasoline prices will increase by P3.60 per liter. Prices of kerosene will also be increased by 4.10 per liter.
This is the 10th straight week that oil prices have risen this year due to rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Various oil companies have announced that they would implement this oil price hike on Tuesday.
Caltex, Cleanfuel, Jetti, Petro Gazz, Seaoil, and Shell, in separate advisories, said they will increase gasoline prices by PHP3.60 per liter and PHP5.85 per liter on diesel.
Shell, Caltex, and Seaoil said they would also increase kerosene prices by PHP4.10 per liter.
Other oil companies are expected to follow suit.
Because of this, motorists lined up to fill their tanks in various gasoline stations on Monday, March 7, a day before this big-time oil price hike.
The Department of Energy has earlier projected that local oil prices could reach P68.70 per liter for diesel, and P78.33 per liter for gasoline once Asian oil price benchmark Dubai crude will reach USD120 per barrel.
With the big-time price increase on Tuesday morning, the total price adjustments or increase this year for oil prices would amount to P13.25 per liter for gasoline, P17.50 per liter for diesel, and P14.40 per liter for kerosene.
On Monday, March 7, benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil soared to a near 14-year high close to $140 per barrel.
Brent reached $139.13 before cooling to $125.57 per liter. The record high stands at $147.50, achieved in 2008 during the global financial crisis.
Russia is one of the world’s biggest crude producers and is also a leading supplier of natural gas.
The International Monetary Fund warned at the weekend that the war and sanctions on Russia would have a “severe impact” on the global economy.
“The price explosion has been sparked by the fact that the West is considering banning Russian oil imports in response to the war in Ukraine,” noted Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.
(with a report from Agence France Presse)