WORLD OIL PRICES (March 4-8, 2024, trading days)

The week-on-week price of Dubai crude has increased by around $1.00 per barrel. On the contrary, the international price of gasoline, diesel and kerosene have decreased by almost $1.65, $0.65, and $0.40 per barrel, respectively.

Reasons for the Price Adjustment¹

• US commercial crude oil stocks climbed by 1.37 million barrels to 448.53 million barrels.
  • A softer build in inventories reflects a steady demand for fuel in the world’s largest economy despite robust production levels.
• China has reported a 7.1% increase on the year in its January-February total exports. The health of China’s export data broadly signals the state of global commerce and economic growth, given its position as an international manufacturing hub.
• However, record growth in non-OPEC producers including the US, Brazil and Guyana, higher inventories, and high rates of purchase of Russian crude despite sanctions are contributing to an oversupplied market and putting a cap on the prices.
• The Asian gasoline complex softened on continued weak import demand from Indonesia and rising supply from Middle East despite widening of US-RBOB Brent crack.
  • Indonesia is expected to have a lower import demand ahead of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in April.
• Gasoline inflows into Asia from the Middle East are expected to increase in March as refineries come back from maintenance, possibly reflecting rising outflows from the Middle East into Asia. Saudi Arabia exported a total of 76,668 mt of gasoline to Singapore in the week ended Feb. 28.
• For gasoil/diesel complex, it remained weak as regional gasoil supply continued to outstrip demand. The East-West arbitrage demand remained hampered by high inventory levels in the West.

FOREX: The week-on-week average of Philippine peso appreciated versus the US dollar by P0.21 to P55.90 from P56.10 in previous week.

DOMESTIC OIL PRICES

Effective 12 March 2024, the oil companies implemented a per liter decrease of P0.50, P0.25 and P0.30, respectively, for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.

Year-to-date adjustment of gasoline and diesel stands at a net increase of P5.45/liter and P3.80/liter, respectively. On the other hand, the net decrease in kerosene prices, year-to-date, is P0.25/liter.

___________________________

1 Asia Pacific 08 March 2024 Weekly Recap by S & P Global Platts Analytics

For the updated prevailing retail pump prices, please refer to this link:

• https://www.doe.gov.ph/price-monitoring-charts?q=retail-pump-prices-metr…

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