LPG prices to go up P3/kg Dec 1; another hike looms

Consumers will be in for a double whammy in December, as prices of liquefied petroleum gas will go up by P3 a kilo or P33 per 11-kg LPG tank on Wednesday. The LPG Marketers Association (LPGMA) also announced a second price hike of P2/kilo or P22 per 11-kg tank sometime later in December. “Ang presyo sa international market tumaas ng $102, so ito ay equivalent sa around P5 per kilo sa ating local price. Sa ngayon ang advice ng supplier namin ay dapat magkakaroon ng staggered increases. So by Dec. 1 magkakaroon ng P3/kilo na pagtaaas," LPGMA party list Rep. Arnel Ty said in an interview on dzBB radio. (Prices in the international market rose by $102 so it is equivalent to P5 per kilo. Our importers and suppliers had advised us of a staggered price increase, the first at P3/kilo and the second at P2/kilo.) Ty said that while the P3/kilo price hike will take effect on Wednesday, December 1, there is no definite date when the second hike will take effect. But last week, Ty hinted prices of LPG may go down in January 2011. “Pagdating ng January malaki ang posibilidad na bumaba ang presyo (When January comes there is a big chance prices will go down)," he said in an earlier radio interview. For now, he insisted LPG dealers have no choice but to hike prices because they fully import their products. “We import all our LPG and if prices rise in the international market we cannot do anything about it," he said. “Ang aming payo makapagtipid sila sa paggamit, yan na lang ang ating magagawa (Consumers must conserve LPG. That is the only advice we can give for now)," he added. — LBG, GMANews.TV