MOTORISTS need to tighten their belts as local oil firms plan to impose massive oil price hikes of up to P10.50 per liter next week, driven by worsening geopolitical conflicts.
In an advisory, Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said diesel prices could hit another double-digit increase, ranging from P10 to P10.50 per liter.
Bellas noted that concerns about “severe product flow constraints and tight availability” due to the war in the Middle East and attacks on Russian refineries have led to expected significant price hikes.
“Oil prices surged higher after attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, the region’s two most important oil transit routes, further deepened supply disruption worries,” he said.
“Attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, a key oil route for bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, forced a shutdown of the system and triggered concerns that the loss of Saudi export capacity would severely affect global energy supplies,” Bellas added.
His estimates were based on the first four days of trading at the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), and foreign exchange movements. MOPS is the basis for the pricing of refined petroleum products in Southeast Asia. (Lisbet K. Esmael © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
