CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said they would lower gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.3 per liter today, their first weekly price cuts in four weeks.
The cuts are a reflection of falling global crude oil prices.
Last week’s oil trading was characterized by higher US crude oil inventories and rising demand for heating oil due to the ongoing cold spell in the eastern US, the privately run Formosa said in a statement.
State-run CPC said in a separate statement that sentiment in the global oil market last week was also negatively affected by the ample production of crude globally.
CPC said its weighted oil price formula showed prices dropped US$1.25 per barrel to US$57.87 over the week.
After factoring in the New Taiwan dollar’s appreciation of almost NT$0.045 against the US dollar, the company’s average oil costs decreased by 1.8 percent last week from the previous week, it said in the statement.
LNG, LPG
CPC also said it would keep prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) products unchanged this month, but raise those for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) items.
Effective today, prices for household LPG are to rise by NT$1.5 per kilogram and by NT$0.8 per liter for LPG used in cars, CPC said.
The price of a 20kg household gas cylinder would increase by NT$30, the company said.
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