Big and small oil companies announced on Monday a uniform price rollback worth 75 centavos a liter on diesel and 50 centavos on gasoline and kerosene.

The wave of rollbacks – announced just between each other by representatives of the oil firms – was the second this month after December 14 when the same companies slashed as much as P1 off fuel prices.

Like last week, small player Eastern Petroleum was first to slash prices. Company President Fernando Martinez said their adjustment took effect at 8 p.m. Monday.

Meanwhile, the “Big Three” composed of Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp., and Chevron Philippines said they would pull down pump prices at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Chevron spokesperson Tony Nebrida said they would slash 50 centavos from their retail price of E-10.

Also cutting prices at past midnight are smaller oil firms Seaoil Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum, and PTT Philippines. Out of the three firms, only Seaoil will adjust its kerosene price. PTT, on the other hand, will only tweak its diesel price.

Shell Spokesperson Bobby Kanapi, the first to announce a rollback, said that the adjustment was made to reflect the drop in international fuel prices, particularly in Asia.

Martinez, chairman of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA), had earlier pointed to the softening of world market prices as expediting the recovery of the local oil industry.

“The softening of world market prices is a welcome opportunity,” said Martinez. The oil executive had earlier declined to forecast any more adjustments for  December, saying that the market is too unpredictable.

The oil companies have so far reduced diesel price by P1.75 a liter, kerosene by P1.50 a liter, and gasoline by P1 a liter this month.

The latest rollbacks brought down the average retail price of diesel to P31.50; kerosene to P40 and gasoline (unleaded) to P39.50 in Metro Manila.

It was recalled that pump prices were raised by as much as P4.50 a liter last month thanks to three successive hikes by the “recovering” oil firms.

Based on the Department of Energy’s (DoE) monitoring, the price of benchmark Dubai crude shed $2.00 value to-date at $76 per barrel as of December 18 from last month’s $78 per barrel.

The regional spot price of unleaded gasoline, on one hand, was tempered at $81 per barrel as of last week’s trading from November average of $82 per barrel; and diesel, on the other, was $3.00 per barrel lower to $82 from the month-ago level of $85 per barrel.