FUEL PRICES are expected to rise by as much as P6.50 per liter next week due to supply disruption concerns after the Strait of Hormuz is once again largely closed to vessel traffic.
Citing price developments as of Thursday, July 23, Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said diesel prices are projected to jump by P6 to P6.50 per liter, and gasoline by P5.50 to P6 per liter.
“World oil prices have rebounded significantly due to concerns of further disruption to oil supply as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to vessel traffic, and growing security risks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait expanded the conflict and raised the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Persian Gulf,” he said in a message to journalists Friday.
Domestic gasoline prices jumped by P3.65 per liter this week; diesel, by P10.68 per liter; and kerosene, by P11.77 per liter.
Bellas explained that because “the Gulf is a major source of diesel and tanker flows were only beginning to recover before hostilities flared again, (the) renewed military strikes and a reciprocal blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by the US and Iran have raised fresh supply concerns.”
“Refinery disruptions and further constraints on Middle Eastern and Russian supply are keeping middle distillate supplies tight and prices elevated,” he said.
“Tight global gasoline balances amid strong demand and low inventories, compounded by the flareup in hostilities in the Middle East, have strengthened prices. Despite easing in Chinese export restrictions and rise in prompt supply from China, renewed risk of supply disruptions and lingering concerns about the delayed recovery of Middle Eastern gasoline exports have helped buoy gasoline prices further.” (PNA)
