Manila: Fuel prices will rise by up to PHP1.90 per liter on Tuesday, marking the eighth straight weekly increase, largely due to Middle East tensions. According to Philippines News Agency, in an advisory Monday, Seaoil announced that gasoline prices will increase by PHP1.90 per liter, diesel by PHP1.20 per liter, and kerosene by PHP1.50 per liter effective 6 a.m. Citing global market trends, Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, noted that crude oil prices at the New York Mercantile Exchange rose about 6.1 percent to USD71.08 per barrel in Monday trading, below the USD75.33 intraday high. The spike followed US and Israeli attacks on Iran that resulted in the death of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and Tehran's retaliatory strikes. Ricafort mentioned that these developments weakened the US dollar, which opened at 57.85 from 57.7 last Friday. He explained that oil price movements "would lead to higher local fuel pump prices and some pick up in overall inflation." Ri cafort added that the markets are in a "wait-and-see" mode, especially if there would be volatility in global oil and energy prices and potential disruption of global oil and energy supply chains.
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