January seen to close with oil price rollback

Metro Manila, Philippines - After three consecutive hikes, motorists might be given a slight reprieve next week as the Department of Energy (DOE) projected a rollback in prices of petroleum products starting Tuesday, Jan. 28.

In its forecast released on Friday, the DOE said gasoline could go down by P0.70 to P1 per liter, diesel by P0.20 to P0.55 per liter, and kerosene by P0.40 to P0.50.

The DOE said the possible price adjustments could be attributed to the re-opening of refineries and ports in the US Gulf Coast after a winter storm.

Another reason could be markets’ factoring in the effects of newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on global economic growth and energy demand.

The projected oil price rollback followed this week’s major mark-up, pushing the total net increase in gasoline at P3.45 per liter, diesel at P5 per liter, and kerosene at P4.30 per liter so far this year.

NewsWatch Plus multiplatform producer Jelo Ritzhie Mantaring contributed to this report.