Recto Sees Lower Pump Prices, Puts Gasoline at P36/liter, Diesel at P32/liter

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General Ralph G. Recto expects another big-time rollback in pump prices of gasoline and diesel as crude oil continues to go down in the world market.
“We welcome the recent price rollbacks undertaken by the oil companies but I join the Department of Energy (DOE) and the new Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile in saying that these are still not enough,” Recto said.
“In our estimate at NEDA, the pump prices of gasoline should now be at PhP35.86 per liter and diesel at PhP31.77 per liter based on Dubai crude oil prices of US$56.00/bbl,” Recto said, adding that these estimates were computed using the exchange rate of PhP49.32 to the US dollar.
Meanwhile, at US$67/bbl of Dubai crude using the same exchange rate, Recto said gasoline should be about PhP40.86 per liter while diesel at about PhP35.22 per liter.
As of November 8, the DOE monitored the average retail price of gasoline at PhP43.96/liter while diesel stood at PhP40.94/liter at an exchange rate of PhP48.54 to the US dollar. “It is important to be mindful of the actions of the oil companies because every peso rollback counts for the ordinary Filipino consumer as this should translate into lower prices of transportation, food and other commodities,” the NEDA chief said.
He noted that the continued drop in prices of oil, food and commodities is beneficial as this lowers inflation. “That’s a positive thing because whether good or bad times, you want lower prices,” Recto said. Moreover, the socioeconomic planning secretary said that fertilizer prices have already gone down by 30 percent in November following the oil price rollback.
“We now see that the Filipino farmers have already started to benefit from the oil price cut. We hope to further ease their burden with lower oil prices,” Recto said.