No changes in oil or electricity rates planned this month

Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) yesterday stressed that the ministry does not plan to hike oil and electricity rates this month, after crude oil briefly touched US$60 a barrel in Asian trading.

Ho made the remark at a seminar attended by lawmakers serving on the legislative Economics and Energy Committee.

Ho said she couldn't say with certainty whether Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油) would hike prices next month, given the unpredictable situation on the crude-oil market.

As for electricity rates, the ministry tended to increase rates gradually, but no timetable has yet been set, she said.

CPC has said that it would maintain its domestic gasoline prices at their current levels as long as crude oil prices stay below US$60 per barrel.

Yet the company said yesterday that it would "give thought" to adjusting prices if crude oil prices remain at or surpass US$60 per barrel for seven to 10 consecutive days, the Central News Agency reported, citing CPC president Chen Bao-lang (陳寶郎).

The recent soaring energy prices have again posed a threat to Taiwan's economic growth, which already saw exports lose steam in recent months, David Hong (洪德生), acting president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台經院), told a media briefing yesterday.

Citing a study conducted by Academia Sinica, Hong said that raising electricity prices by 10 percent would result in a 0.1 percent decline in GDP growth and a 0.3 percent rise in consumer prices.