Budgets of Filipino families will be strained anew as the cost of cooking fuel liquefied petroleum gas which is a basic necessity in households will rise by P2.90 per kilogram this month or an aggregate P31.90 for the standard 11-kilogram cylinder.
The increase in LPG prices has been generally attributed to the rise in contract prices in the world market, according to the Department of Energy.
LPG industry players that have increased prices were leading player Petron Corp. effective 12:01 a.m. March 1 for its Gasul brand and Isla Petroleum and Gas Corp. for its Solane brand at P2.60 per kilogram (exclusive of Value-Added Tax) at 6 a.m. Friday.
Petron also advised that its auto LPG price is up by P1.65 per liter. Auto LPG is the fuel used also by the public transport sector, primarily taxi fleets.
“These reflect the international contract price of LPG for the month of March,” the leading oil firm stressed, referencing it generally to the rise of benchmark price of Saudi Aramco, which is the pricing reference followed by Asian markets.
Prior to this round of adjustment, the pick-up price of LPG had been P610 to P755 for the standard 11-kilogram tank in various outlets in Metro Manila.
Petron’s Gasul brand was retailing at P690 to P696 per tank while Isla Gas was at an average P698 for the standard cooking cylinder.
If inclusive of the latest price increase, Petron said its price range will now be P721.90 to P727.90 for the 11-kilogram tank.
For Super LPG of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., it was priced at P651 to P690 per tank prior to the March round of price hikes while EC Gas of Eastern Petroleum had been at P702.50 to P755 for the 11-kilogram cylinder. (Myrna M. Velasco)