LPG price rollback possible this month

MANILA, Philippines — Users of liquefied petroleum gas may get an early Christmas gift this month as large cuts in international prices could lead to a rollback in local LPG prices.

Contract prices in global markets, as determined by Saudi oil giant Aramco, have plummeted by $90 per metric ton after the Democratic Party routed the Republican Party of US President Donald Trump in last week’s midterm elections, Regasco president Arnel Ty said yesterday.

If the price trend continues until the end of the month, LPG prices may fall in December by anywhere between P5 and P6 per kilo.

But Ty raised the possibility of implementing the rollback as early as this month, depending on what transpires in Thursday’s meeting between LPG players and the Department of Energy.

“Probably, because of this softening of prices, we might experience an advanced rollback for LPG,” Ty told “Money Talks” on One News.

“But we have to communicate first with the DOE that if any brand will have an advanced rollback, it should be credited as a rollback of December’s contract price,” he added.

Household cooking has become more expensive ever since the Middle East war broke out in late February.

Demand for LPG is down by as much as 30 percent this year, according to Ty, though he is confident that vendors could recover their losses.

“We believe we can recoup that once the international market price of LPG starts going down,” he said.

Motorists are enjoying lower crude prices, with the price of gasoline plunging this week by as much as P17 per liter and diesel by P4 per liter.