Fuel prices going up again next week

A gas station attendant fills up cars at a station in Paco, Manila.

STAR / Edd Gumban

MANILA, Philippines — Domestic fuel prices are set for another increase next week amid mounting market uncertainties following the expiration of the interim US-Iran agreement without a broader peace deal.

The first four trading days of the Mean of Platts Singapore point to a possible price hike of P1.75 to P2.25 per liter for diesel and P1 to P1.50 per liter for gasoline on Aug. 25.

The estimates could still widen with one trading day remaining, although prices could also reverse and result in a rollback.

“With the expiration of the mid-June US-Iran MOU (memorandum of understanding) and both sides expressing intentions to take a harder line, markets are pricing in the possibility of a prolonged crisis,” Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said yesterday.

Also exerting upward pressure on prices are growing risks to Russian oil supplies due to disruptions in Black Sea shipments and concerns over the availability of replacement crude from the Middle East.

In its August 2026 oil market report, the International Energy Agency expects global oil demand to weaken further in the second half of the year as the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts international supply chains.

“Global oil demand is now expected to decline by an average of 1.6 mb/d (million barrels per day) this year,” it said.

As of Aug. 14, the Philippines’ average fuel inventory was equivalent to 58.34 days of supply, according to the Department of Energy.