After back-to-back fuel price hikes this week, Filipino motorists might soon catch a break at the pump.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), early market indicators suggest that petroleum prices could roll back next week—though officials remain cautious about confirming anything just yet.
“For two days, based on MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore)… may chance mag roll back (there’s a chance of a rollback),” said DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Rodela Romero in an interview with GMA News Online.
However, Romero emphasized that the situation remains fluid, adding it’s still “too early” to be certain of a price reduction.
Local fuel player Jetti Petroleum echoed this sentiment in its own forecast based on early-week trading. The company said price changes may fall within these ranges:
Diesel: A rollback between ₱0.80 to ₱1.10 per liter
Gasoline: Movement could be either a ₱0.10 increase or a ₱0.20 rollback per liter
“Above are still subject to change, depending on the MOPS of the remaining days of the week,” Jetti stated.
For context, MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore) serves as the benchmark for pricing petroleum products across Southeast Asia. It reflects the daily average of transactions between fuel buyers and sellers, as reported by Standard and Poor’s Platts.
Jetti linked the potential rollback to global developments, particularly the cooling tensions in the Middle East. The petroleum firm noted that the easing of geopolitical risks helped reduce oil prices globally. It cited the “easing of war risk premium on crude oil following the de-escalation of the conflict…[as] world oil prices further went down after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran, reducing the risk of supply disruption in the Middle East.”
This aligns with DOE’s earlier observation. Officer-in-charge Sharon Garin said the average price of crude oil dropped to around $69 per barrel as of Tuesday morning, June 24, following the announcement by US President Donald Trump that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran had taken effect.
Still, any relief from high fuel costs would follow a painful week for consumers. On Tuesday, June 24, major fuel companies implemented the second half of a scheduled price increase:
Gasoline rose by ₱1.75 per liter
Diesel climbed by ₱2.60 per liter
Kerosene prices went up by ₱2.40 per liter
Whether next week brings a rollback or not will depend on market performance over the coming days—but for now, there’s at least a glimmer of hope for drivers.
