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The spokesman of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said Thursday an increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel in the coming weeks is possible if prices of crude oil in the world market continue to go up.

"We did not have any request from the marketing to increase the price this week pero ang indication po ay mukhang ganyan dahil talagang umakyat by about $10. Nakita ko iyong data kahapon umakyat by about $10 iyong crude oil (but indications show that an increase is possible because the crude oil as of Wednesday went up by about $10 per barrel). So there could be a possibility," said Roberto Kanapi.

Kanapi, however, assured that if ever an increase in the prices of its products is implemented it will be on a staggered basis. He added that if oil prices in the international market ease up a price adjustment may no longer be needed.

Kanapi’s statements came on the heels of a P1.50 per kilogram increase in the prices of liquefied petroleum gas, or an additional P16.50 per 11-kilogram LPG cylinder, implemented by Pilipinas Shell, Total Gas and Petron Corp. Thursday.

The LPG Marketers Association also increased its LPG products by P5 per kilogram effective Thursday. Autogas, meanwhile, said it will implement a P2.30 per kilogram increase in its LPG product effective November 3.

Kanapi noted that the increases in LPG prices were due to an upward trend in the contract prices in the world market.

With the price adjustments, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the LPG prices of Petron and Shell now range from P545 to P575.

Kanapi said the LPG's contract price for November increased by $90 to $747.50 per metric ton from October’s $657.50 per metric ton. On Dubai’s crude oil, he said from $73 per barrel the price soared by $83 a barrel.

He noted that in the past the prices of LPG would usually go up before Christmas.

"Ang kabutihan nito, iyong exchange rate natin ay maganda. In a way, nakatulong ito at hindi masyadong mataas ang increases namin kasi, gumaganda, nag-a-appreciate iyong peso against the dollar (It’s a good thing that our exchange rate is good. In a way, a strong peso helps. We didn’t implement a higher increase because of the strong peso)," he said

Reyes, meanwhile, assured that the Department of Energy is monitoring the prices of fuel products.

He also said that the department is also conducting inspections to ensure that the accuracy of the content of LPG cylinders.

Meanwhile oil prices in the international marker barreled through new records of more than $96 in Asian trade Thursday after the US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and following news of a surprise decline in US crude stocks.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, was trading at $96.02 a barrel, up 1.49 cents from its close of $94.53 a barrel in US trades, and smashing Wednesday's record of $94.74.

The New York contract earlier surged to an all-time intraday summit of $96.24.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery also erased the previous day's intraday high of $90.94 to trade at $91.62, up 99 cents.

"Now, it seems that triple digits is going to be the target," said Tony Nunan, manager for energy risk at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, referring to oil at 100 dollars a barrel. "It's anybody's guess."

Australia's Commonwealth Bank said: "The increase in oil prices was driven by the release of the US Energy Information Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status report, which showed a large decline in US crude oil inventories."

Oil prices, which had earlier slumped below $90 on Wednesday, staged a blistering rally after the Federal Reserve cut key US interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.50 percent.

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