MANILA – Diesel prices are expected to slightly decrease next week, while gasoline prices are likely to rise anew due to current supply conditions, an oil firm executive said.

Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said that based on price movements as of Thursday, diesel prices are projected to go down by around PHP0.10 per liter, while gasoline prices may increase between PHP0.40 and PHP0.60 per liter.

He attributed the projected diesel rollback, which follows global crude market trends, to lower-than-expected production hikes by oil-producing countries by November.

Bellas noted that gasoline prices “remained supported due to an uptick in domestic demand from China and India, and healthy spot demand from Indonesia.”

“While the first four days average of MOPS (Means of Platts Singapore) prices this week have declined versus last week’s average, the same premiums have been factored in, which resulted to the lower rollback estimate on diesel and the upward movement on gasoline,” he said.

“But premiums are projected to ease down after Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire. Crude oil and MOPS prices are also expected to go down today because of this development,” he added. (PNA)