Will a PHP 12+ rollback on diesel happen next week?

Before the big-time oil price hike went into effect yesterday, Facebook page PH Fuel Watch has already predicted the increase as early as Tuesday last week. And true enough, the estimates they had more or less went as expected.

PH Fuel Watch base their information on Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), which gives a price forecast of oil products based in Singapore that is 15 to 30 days ahead. Their latest post is finally singing a different tune for next week. Check the screenshot below :

We did some fact-checking ourselves, and it looks like we are indeed heading for an oil price rollback next week. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi reported to President Rodrigo Duterte earlier that gasoline and diesel prices could go down by PHP 5 and PHP 12 per liter, respectively. Sec. Cusi added that this price rollback was caused by a few events happening across the globe.

China imposed a massive lockdown after seeing a steep jump in daily infections, which would slow their current pace of oil consumption. Also, hopes of cease-fire talks between Russia and Ukraine have gained significant ground after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed that they are no longer interested in joining NATO.

According to Reuters, oil price benchmarks like Brent and US crude have dipped below 100 USD for the first time since late February. Recent global events drove crude oil prices lower, but many expect the volatility to continue.

This is indeed welcome news for everyone. After 11 consecutive weeks of pump price increase, we may finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, this downward trend won't be short-lived.