Oil Monitor as of 18 April 2023

Date published: April 18, 2023

WORLD OIL PRICES (April 10-14, 2023 trading days)

The The week-on-week price of Dubai crude has increased by around $1.00/bbl. On the opposite, MOPS prices of gasoline, diesel and kerosene have decreased per barrel by about $1.00, $2.40 and $0.70, respectively, during the reference week.

Reasons for the Price Adjustment1

The week’s increase in oil prices was largely driven by the following:

  • Oil prices continued to climb this week on the back of cooling US inflation data, a weaker dollar and stronger-than-expected China trade data.

o Annual inflation in the US dropped for the ninth consecutive month in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

o The US dollar index extended its downward trend since early March, supporting prices for dollar-denominated crude oil futures.

  • Chinese exports snapped five months of declines in March, posting a higher-than-expected 14.8% jump on year along with a smaller-than-expected fall in imports. The trade data represented China’s first export expansion since September, bolstering its economic outlook while at the same time raising debates over whether China needs to step up stimulus measures amid mixed signals from recent economic readings.

  • News that the US could begin buying oil to replenish the SPR in the second half of the year also contributed to the strength in crude oil prices.

o US commercial crude inventories rose by 0.60million barrels to 470.55million barrels in the week ended April 7.

  • Asian gasoline crack weakened amid market speculations of additional clean oil product export quotas and higher gasoline exports from China. Octane values on the US Gulf Coast spiked and gasoline stocks continued to draw ahead of the peak summer driving season.

o Gasoline demand rose to 9.10 million b/d, up 5.5% from the same period last year. Singapore’s commercial stockpiles of light distillates, which include gasoline, reformate, and naphtha, built by 6.6%on week to 15.94 million barrels in the week ended April 12, up 43.9% on year.

  • Asian gasoil crack weakened amid market expectations of an increase in Chinese export quotas. The East-West EFS remained narrow as refineries in France gradually restarted after strikes eased.

o France Total Energies’ Donges refinery was set to gradually return its units online from the evening of April 10 after it started preparations for a restart April 7. Product dispatches had resumed from ExxonMobil’s Fos-sur-Mer refinery in southern France where a strike was suspended on April 6.

FOREX: The week-on-week average of Philippine peso depreciated versus the US dollar by P0.13 to P55.06 from P54.53 in previous week.

 

DOMESTIC OIL PRICES

Effective 18 April 2023, the oil companies implemented a per liter decrease of P0.40 on the price of diesel. On the contrary the price of gasoline and kerosene have increased by P0.30 and P0.10, respectively.

These resulted to a year-to-date net decrease for diesel at P2.35/liter and kerosene at P3.35/liter. Gasoline on the other hand, has a net increase of P8.95/liter.

For the updated prevailing retail pump price, please browse this link: https://www.doe.gov.ph/price-monitoring-charts?q=retail-pump-prices-metro-manila.

Other recommended reference sites:
    • http://www.aip.com.au/pricing
    • http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=crude-oil-dubai
    • https://www.quandl.com/data/ODA/POILDUB_USD-Dubai-Crude-Oil-Price

For more information, call the

Department of Energy
Pricing: 840-2187
LPG: 840-2130
Fuels: 840-5669
Website: https://www.doe.gov.ph

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1 Asia-Pacific Weekly Recap 14 April 2023 by S&P Global Platts Analytics

 

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