PUMP PRICES UP BY AS MUCH AS P1.90 PER LITER AMID MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

PRICES of fuel will rise by up to P1.90 per liter on Tuesday due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Tuesday’s oil price hike is the eighth straight weekly increase.

In an advisory Monday, Seaoil said that effective 6 a.m., gasoline prices will increase by P1.90 per liter, diesel by P1.20 per liter, and kerosene by P1.50 per liter.

According to Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, based on global market trends, crude oil prices at the New York Mercantile Exchange rose about 6.1 percent to USD71.08 per barrel in Monday trading, below the USD75.33 intraday high.

The spike followed US and Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes.

Ricafort said the developments weakened the US dollar, which opened at 57.85 from 57.7 last Friday.

Oil price movements, he said, “would lead to higher local fuel pump prices and some pick up in overall inflation.”

He added to wait-and-see for the markets, especially if there would be volatility in global oil or energy prices and potential disruption of global oil/energy supply chains.