WORLD OIL PRICES (February 17-21, 2014 trading days)

Reports of uncertainty about protests in Venezuela, a major U.S. oil supplier, as well as of export disruptions in Libya and South Sudan, have added pressure on the week’s oil prices. These gave further support on earlier reports of positive economic outlook for the US, frigid weather in the US and OPEC forecast of world’s faster growth in oil demand.

Moreover, US refineries’ cutting back output to perform maintenance and prepare for a switch to more expensive summer gasoline is another reason that currently affects oil prices.  As such, U.S. retail gasoline prices continued their seasonal climb.

For the products market in Asia, gasoline sentiment remained mixed, with divided opinions from market traders.  According to Platts, while some traders say that there is an oversupply of light distillate fuels, others pointed to a still healthy demand as the reason behind the firming of gasoline premiums.  Moreover, traders also noted that the up-coming turnaround season in Asia and refinery maintenance in the West may have been the cause of the price up-tick in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Asian gasoil/diesel market continued to firm on tightening supply, due to emerging demand from Sri Lanka and Vietnam, as well as good demand from Saudi Arabia and Africa. "Gasoil with a sulfur content of 500 ppm looks decently tight,” Platts noted.  The market is likewise expected to pick-up in the second quarter of this year, ahead of the refinery turnaround season.

Overall, Dubai crude increased by US$1.50 to about US$107/bbl.  MOPS diesel also increased by US$1.50 to US$125/bbl, while MOPS gasoline increased by US$0.70 to US$118/bbl.

FOREX:  Week-on-week value of Peso against the US dollar appreciated by P0.29 to P44.62, from P44.91 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 25 February 2014, most of the oil companies implemented an increase on the prices of diesel and kerosene by P0.25 and P0.15 per liter, respectively.  There was no movement on gasoline price.

Year-to-date price adjustment for gasoline remained at P0.20/liter, while that of diesel now has a net decrease of P0.15/liter.

* RON 95

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