CPC cuts gasoline and diesel prices by NT$1 per liter

The state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) announced yesterday that it would cut gasoline prices by NT$1 per liter and the price of diesel by the same amount at midnight last night.

The price adjustment was made according to CPC's floating oil-pricing mechanism, which calculated that there was a 5.16 percent drop in the price of West Texas Intermediate crude traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange over the past week.

With the adjustment, the price of 92 octane unleaded gasoline will fall to NT$26.3 per liter, while that of 95 octane unleaded gasoline will be NT$27 per liter, and 98 octane unleaded will be NT$28.5.

The price of regular diesel will fall to NT$23.1 per liter, while that of super diesel will be NT$23.6 per liter, while fuel oil price will drop to NT$16,393 per kiloliter.

The CPC began to implement a floating oil price system on Jan. 3 to better reflect the company's costs. The pricing system is based on fluctuations in the price of West Texas Intermediate crude traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The privately owned oil refiner Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced later yesterday that it would match its bigger rival's price cuts, taking effect at 2am today.

But Formosa Petrochemical said it would raise its wholesale prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to reflect higher crude oil costs.

Beginning at 10pm yesterday, Formosa Petrochemical was to boost the price of industrial LPG by NT$1.36 per kilogram to NT$24.85 and LPG used by households by NT$1.16 per kilogram to NT$22.36.