Shell to raise gasoline and kerosene prices

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. will raise this Tuesday both prices of its regular gasoline and kerosene by P0.50 per liter, but will reduce the price of its unleaded gasoline by P0.30 per liter. In its advisory on Monday, Pilipinas Shell said the latest increase in oil prices is reflective of price movements in the world market. Pilipinas Shell said the price movements will take effect at 12:01 am on Tuesday. The price of Shell's diesel products, on the other hand, remain unchanged. In its July 19 report, the Energy Department said world oil prices have been fluctuating recently on the back of improving demand, supply shortage from Libya and the continued euro zone debt crisis. Remarks by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke citing the possibility of a fresh round of stimulus spending that could weaken the dollar likely affected oil prices, the department added. Oil is priced in dollars and tends to rise as the dollar falls against other currencies, making oil less expensive for buyers transacting in non-dollar currencies. Barely a week ago, Philippine oil companies implemented a P0.30-per-liter increase in gasoline prices, P1.10 per liter for diesel, P1.00 per liter for kerosene and P0.60 per liter for regular gasoline. The current of gasoline is P51.95 to P58.87 per liter, while diesel sells for P43.60 to P48.10 per liter. As of July 19, the year-to-date net increase in gasoline and diesel prices are P7.52 per liter and P7.90 per liter, respectively. — JMT/VS, GMA News