Oil prices in the Philippines
Yes, yes… I know that oil prices are high everywhere! Today, though, I just thought that I’d give you an update of where fuel prices stand in the Philippines. It seems that every week, the price of fuel goes up, and not just little by little.
It usually happens on weekends, the big oil companies here in the Philippines will announce price increases. It’s usually pretty uniform among the companies, they all raise by a half peso or one peso per liter. Lately it’s been a lot more than that though. Every week, the price might go up by two or three pesos now. Sometimes I’ll pass by the gas station one day, and when I passed by the next day I get real sticker shock when I see the price!
This morning, there are new prices on fuel. Let’s have a look and see where they stand here in the Philippines.
For this comparison, I’m using a conversion rate of 44 pesos per dollar. One gallon equals 3.785 liters.
Regular unleaded gasoline is now being sold at P 60 per liter. That works out to $5.16 per gallon. Based on news reports I’ve been seeing, I guess that we’re about $1 more per gallon than the United States.
For diesel fuel, the current price is P 51 per liter. That works out to $4.39 per gallon.
I’ve seen some discussion on various sites regarding diesel versus gasoline. In many countries, diesel costs more than gasoline. Here in the Philippines, gasoline is more than diesel. I believe part of the reason is, most of the public transportation like jeepneys and other such vehicles are using diesel. Because of this, it’s important to keep the price of diesel down, and the government does all it can to ensure that.
Over the past year or so, a lot of taxis and other vehicles have begun converting to using LPG, which is sort of like a propane or natural gas, which is liquefied. It seems like a good move, however, when I ride in an LPG taxi I always notice that it really has a lack of power. For instance, if it’s going up a hill, it can get pretty slow. Certainly with the prices of fuel in this level, we all need to be thinking about what other alternatives we have.
Last week, I was watching a TV show, and they were talking about fuel prices. Some oil company executives were saying that gasoline could be up to between 70 and 80 pesos per liter in the not too distant future. My goodness, that’s nearly $7 per gallon. I hope it doesn’t come, but I think it’s pretty likely.
How much are you paying for gas now? Leave a comment and tell me what the prices were you are.
Hi Phil R. – Ha ha.. they might as well make it $4! Of course, by tomorrow it will be!
All consumer goods are jumping like crazy due to the cost of transportation! When will this madness end?
Hi Steven – Lately, I find myself getting depressed some days at the state that the World is in right now. I hope things get better soon, although I’m not expecting it. I’ll keep my fingers crossed, though!
I regularly pay $4.30 a gallon in Vancouver, Washington. Makes me sick. Opening up more drilling in the United States will NOT solve this problem. The oil companies already have 65 MILLION acres of known oil reserves in the U.S. and they will NOT drill there. Why do you think that is? Because they don’t care how high oil gets…why should they? They are making world record profits each and every quarter. And by the way, we give these crooks BILLIONS in tax breaks!
But that is for another discussion. Hard to say which government is more crooked, the filipino government or the U.S..
Hi Todd – I am not sure or if you realize this, but I moved to the Philippines from Vancouver, Washington, so I guess were from the same area. I’m to choose not to comment about the comparison of the governments, being a guest in this country means that I sometimes had to hold my tongue. I hope you understand.