WORLD OIL PRICES (October 28 - November 1, 2013 trading days)

Crude oil prices seesawed over the week on mixed market signals. Reports that the oil market has been oversupplied pulled Brent and WTI slightly lower during the week, but lesser production in Libya due to protests, and speculations of continued economic stimulus in the US balanced the market. Reports were specified as follows:

• Demand slowdown in the US and parts of Asia due to lower refinery runs and maintenance of refineries, resulting to surplus in supply-demand balance;
• U.S. oil output jumped 13 percent this year on increasing output from shale formation, per DOE-EIA. Refineries kept their operations at a six-month low last week, reducing demand for crude;
• Speculations that the Federal Reserve’s policy makers will not begin to trim its stimulus program until March next year;
• Libya’s crude production dropped to about 250,000-300,000 barrels a day as Tuareg nomads seeking greater political recognition halted flows from the Al-Sharara field;
• China’s non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index gained in October as reported by their National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics in Beijing.

As regards the Asian products market, Platts noted that there were mixed fundamentals for gasoline, with benchmark 92 RON gasoline remaining under pressure from a lack of incremental demand for lower octane grades. But the 95 RON grade was sustained by the emergence of buying interest from the region as well as underlying demand from countries such as Jordan and Bahrain. There were also fresh tenders seen from Vietnam.

Similarly, sentiment continued to be bullish the Asian gasoil/diesel market amid supply tightness in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Supply in North Asia was described as "very tight" due to refinery outages in Japan, lesser supply from South Korea and Taiwan and refinery maintenance/outages in the Middle East.

Overall, Dubai crude increased by ten cents a barrel. MOPS diesel also increased by almost a dollar, contrary to that of gasoline which decreased by seventy cents.

FOREX: Peso per US dollar rate depreciated week-on-week by P0.05 to 43.18, from P43.10 in previous week.

Other recommended reference sites: (1) http://www.aip.com.au/pricing (2) http://www.med.govt.nz/ers/oil_pet/prices/prices.html

DOMESTIC OIL PRICES

Effective today, most of the oil companies implemented an increase of P0.35 for diesel and P0.20 for kerosene. No adjustment was effected for gasoline.

Year-to-date net increase for diesel stands now at P2.63/liter, while gasoline remained at P0.74/liter.

Domestic LPG prices rose as well by P2.41-P3.16 per kg (VAT inclusive), effective 1 November 2013, due to increase in its Contract Price for November by US$62/MT to US$903/MT, from US$841/MT in October.

For more information, call the

Department of Energy:
Pricing: 840-2187
LPG: 840-2130
Fuels: 840-5669
SMS: (0915) 4469421
Email: oilmonitor@doe.gov.ph
Website: http://www.doe.gov.ph