Major oil price hike scheduled for tomorrow

Better fill up those gas tanks before tomorrow. Pump prices are set to increase for the 10^th week in a row, adding another hefty burden to everyone.

Over the course of the weekend, oil players in the country gave announcements of a major fuel price increase this week, but no exact figures have been released. Now, the inevitable has come. Brace yourselves for the biggest single-week oil price hike since the start of 2022.

Effective 12:01 AM tomorrow, Caltex is adding PHP 5.85 per liter of diesel and PHP 4.10 for kerosene. On the other hand, pump prices per liter of gasoline will increase by PHP 3.60. Other oil companies like Pilipinas Shell and Seaoil will adjust their prices at 6:00 AM. Meanwhile, Cleanfuel will only hike prices at 4:01 PM.

Crude oil prices in the international market have soared by more than 10% from last week. Based on the latest price of Brent crude oil, it's now at $139.13 per barrel. The all-time record high of $147 per barrel was set in 2008.

The continued rise of oil prices is still mainly due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Economic sanctions imposed on Russia have not slowed down the advance of their troops to Ukraine, and now, the US and Europe are thinking of risking a ban on Russian oil.

If this happens, global oil supply will be further hampered and prices will continue to soar, especially with Russia being the world's third-largest oil producer.