Pre-war rates likely: Diesel, kerosene prices seen down on June 16

MANILA, Philippines — Pump prices of diesel and kerosene are expected to decrease on Tuesday, June 16, while gasoline prices may either rise or fall, according to the Department of Energy.

Diesel prices are expected to roll back by P3.71 to P5.71 per liter, while kerosene prices may decrease by P0.50 to P2.50 per liter.

Gasoline prices, meanwhile, may either increase by P1.68 per liter or decrease by P0.32 per liter.

The DOE said the expected adjustments are still being driven by movements in the global oil supply chain due to the conflict between the United States and Iran.

Return to pre-war prices?

Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said oil and fuel prices in the Philippines may return to pre-war levels, or around P50 to P60 per liter, after six to 12 months.

This came after the United States and Iran agreed to a peace deal that is expected to end the nearly four-month conflict in West Asia, which disrupted the global oil supply chain.

Sales said pump prices would not immediately drop even if the peace deal succeeds, as oil facilities and supply networks would also need time to restart operations.

"It's really just an issue of restarting the supply that was disrupted by the war. The return of supply is not instantaneous," Sales said.

Oil inventory

The DOE also said the country's current supply of oil and fuel products could last an average of 46.37 days as of June 12.

Gasoline supply could last for 44.98 days, diesel for 43.06 days and kerosene for 139.12 days.

Jet fuel supply could last for 78.33 days, fuel oil for 45.50 days and liquefied petroleum gas for 45 days.