US-Iran ceasefire: DOE can’t say if local fuel prices will rise or fall

MANILA, Philippines – Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin said it is still difficult to predict how the announced ceasefire between the United States and Iran would impact global and domestic oil prices.

“I think the problem will stay longer than the war itself. If it ever goes down to P100 or below, it will take some time,” she told the House ways and means committee on Wednesday, April 8.

“We don’t have visibility where this will go,” she added, as she also declined to rule out the possibility of fuel prices jumping to P200 per liter.

A DOE briefer disseminated to committee members posed a scenario – with a supposed probability of 40% – in which diesel prices could fall to P90–P105 per liter, and gasoline prices to P72-P82 per liter, if a ceasefire occurs and the Strait of Hormuz is partially reopened. The DOE, however, did not present the slides during the hearing.

“Today, there was an announcement of [a] two-week ceasefire but anything can happen. Supply can go up – it’s beyond our control – or it can go down; the war can escalate or de-escalate,” Garin said during her presentation.

Washington and Tehran reportedly reached a two‑week ceasefire agreement just before US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz lapsed. Trump had threatened to wipe out “a whole civilization” if Iran did not comply.

Trump said the deal was subject to Iran’s agreement to stop blocking oil tankers from passing through the strait. – Rappler.com