Philippine and global gas pump prices compared
24 July 2008
Every time local pump prices rose, we would hear the ocassional "be thankful, other countries are paying more". That doesn't seem to be true compared to all countries.
A reuters report by July 21 states that the decline of more than 12 percent in crude oil prices last week shaved about 1 percent from prices at the pump as consumers paid less for gasoline and diesel fuel. The national price for regular, self-service gasoline declined almost a nickel over the last week to $4.06 a gallon, according to the federal Energy Information Administration's survey of service stations.
Each gallon is measured at 3.78 liters, as per Philippine pump measurement. This translates into only 46.7 Pesos paid per liter in America, compared to our current outlay of 57 to 60 pesos for diesel or gasoline with different octane levels.
The reason for the slow rollback is often stated to be under recovery, or that local companies have oil
in their inventory that still cost $140 or thereabouts. This is a big gray area for turning up the knob of profits if those companies feel like it, and there may be no way to monitor their inventory to the letter.
More on America, the average pump price was still up $1.11 a gallon from a year ago, mirroring crude oil costs that remain far above historical levels. This fall in fuel costs was due to the $16 per barrel decline in the price of crude oil, or about 12 percent.
Every $1 drop in the price for a barrel of oil results in a 2.4 cent decline in a gallon of gasoline, according to the EIA. If crude oil stays down near $130 a barrel, pump prices are expected to keep falling over the next few weeks, the forecasting agency said.
However, looking at this graph, other western and European countries do seem to double America's price, which may translate to 90 pesos per liter here in the Philippines.
The table from reuters below shows global retail gasoline prices for July. ASIA PACIFIC US$/litre US$/gallon Octane rating
(with Asian countries edited to compute for Philippine prices/Liter at 43.5:1)
As we can see, Asian countries that produce oil or can subsidize oil have the lowest prices.
Australia 1.70 7.73 91 (73.95Php/L)
China^ 0.86 3.91 93 (37.41php/L)
India^ 1.07 4.86 87/88 (46.54php/L)
Indonesia^ 0.65 2.95 88 (28.275php/L)
Japan 1.72 6.51 90 (74.82/L)
Malaysia 0.83 3.77 97 (36.1/L)
Singapore 1.63 7.41 95 (70.9/L)
Vietnam^ 1.15 5.23 92 AMERICAS
United States 1.07 4.06 85-88
Brazil^ 1.56 7.09 N/A*
Mexico^ 0.71 2.69 88 EUROPE
EU average 2.33 10.59 95
Norway 2.45 11.14 95
Russia 0.99 4.50 95 MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Iran^ 0.11# 0.50 86-90
Saudi Arabia^ 0.12 0.55 95
South Africa 1.41 6.41 95
NOTE: The United States, Mexico and Japan use U.S. gallons (equals 3.785 litres). All others in imperial gallons (equals 4.546 litres).
Prices for the United States and EU average based on latest data from U.S. Department of Energy and European Commission. Other prices are provided by Reuters reporters, and are spot prices obtained in the second week of July.
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