OIL companies have again hiked the price of petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 50 centavos a liter and a peso a kilo, respectively, in a bid to reflect the continuous increase of oil prices in the world market.

Over the weekend, oil companies Chevron Philippines Inc., Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Total (Philippines) Corp. and Unioil Petroleum Philippines Corp. announced that they raised prices of diesel, gasoline and kerosene by 50 centavos a liter, which is inclusive of the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT).

Petron, Shell and Total also increased the price of LPG by P1 a kilo, or P11 per 11-kilo cylinder, but exclusive of the VAT.

Total, on the other hand, also jacked up the price of autogas—LPG when used for vehicles—by   P1.93 centavos a liter, inclusive of the VAT.

The P1 increase in LPG is attributed to the increase in the international contract price of $652.50 per metric ton this month, which was $82.50 per metric ton higher than the previous month.

Oil companies attributed the increase to the close to $6 increase in the price of Dubai crude at $73.36 a barrel in October from $72.32 a barrel in September.

Oil companies urged consumers to hope for the further strengthening of the peso against the dollar to help soften the impact of world oil prices then.

The Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (Ippca) earlier explained that a dollar increase in the barrel price of oil is equivalent to a P0.35 a liter increase in domestic fuel prices.

“World oil prices remain to be volatile, so announcing or pronouncing further oil price cuts are very difficult to ascertain,” Fernando L. Martinez, Ippca earlier told BusinessMirror. 

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OIL companies have again hiked the price of petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 50 centavos a liter and a peso a kilo, respectively, in a bid to reflect the continuous increase of oil prices in the world market.

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