Motorists should expect a breather in the coming week with a round of pump price rollbacks after a series of mega fuel price hikes since the Middle East conflict broke out in February.
Citing results of Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) trading in the past four days, an oil industry source said the estimated reductions in pump prices are as follows:
- Diesel - P5.50 to P6.50 per liter
- Gasoline - unchanged to P1.00 per liter
Fuel retailers announce official price adjustments every Monday and implemented the following day.
Effective Tuesday, April 7, oil firms hiked the prices of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene by P6.00 per liter, P19.80 per liter, and P9.10 per liter, respectively.
This was the 14th price movement for 2026 which resulted in a total net increase of P54.20 per liter for gasoline, P109.85 per liter for diesel, and P8.20 per liter for kerosene.
The anticipated reductions in pump prices came amid the two-week ceasefire agreed upon by the United States and Iran.
US President Donald Trump agreed to a ceasefire with Iran less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its civilian infrastructure.
Trump said the last-minute deal was subject to Iran’s agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas supplies through the strait which handles around a fifth of global supplies.
For his part, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said the country would stop counterattacks and allow safe passage.
President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that the Philippines will take advantage of the two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran to secure as much as possible the country's petroleum supply.
''So we will take full advantage of the two weeks to increase our supply as much as possible and to continue to make whatever arrangements are possible. We are all hoping and praying that the two-week ceasefire will extend further if the talks go well,'' Marcos said.
Marcos has also announced a P10-per-liter fuel subsidy for public utility vehicles (PUV) to ease the burden of drivers and operators amid the fuel price increases. —VAL, GMA News