The Philippines: As crude surges to over USD100 a barrel, DBCC closely monitoring oil prices

• GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC managers are keeping a close eye on oil price hikes as Brent crude surged over USD100 for the first time since 2014 after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, offering assistance to sectors affected most by the crisis.
• “The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) is closely monitoring the factors affecting the oil prices in the country,” the interagency group said.
• The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in its latest assessment said Dubai crude oil would average USD83.3 per barrel in 2022, but would slow down to USD79 by the end of 2022.
• The fuel subsidy budget can only be released when the average Dubai crude oil price based on the Mean of Platts Singapore reaches or exceeds USD80 per barrel for three consecutive months.
• Brent crude on 24 Feb 22 exceeded USD100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 after Russia invaded Ukraine, Reuters reported. It rose by 6.5% to USD103.78 a barrel, or the highest since Aug 14.
• Despite the surge in crude futures, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the central bank is keeping its oil price projections for now.
• “As far as the oil price is concerned, our threshold is USD95 per barrel, there will be no change in our forecast,” he said at an online briefing.
• “But it has to be a sustained increase over USD95 to make a significant change in our forecast. But as you know, we adjust our forecast based on the most recent data,” he added.

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