CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said they would raise domestic fuel prices this week on the back of continued increases in global crude oil prices, which have been buoyed by positive market sentiment toward a “phase one” trade agreement expected to be signed by the US and China next month.
The oil market was also boosted by Russia’s continued cooperation with OPEC to cut output and a decline in US commercial crude inventories, the refiners said.
In separate statements, CPC and Formosa said that they would increase gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter, effective today, following price increases of NT$0.3 per liter for gasoline and NT$0.4 per liter for diesel last week.
Based on state-run CPC’s floating oil price formula, prices last week increased by US$0.8 per barrel to US$67.53, the company’s Web site showed.
Normally, the price of gasoline would have risen by NT$0.2 per liter, CPC said.
However, to adhere to the government’s policy of keeping fuel prices the lowest among Asian nations, CPC absorbed 50 percent of the increase, the company said.
After the adjustments, prices at CPC gas stations are to rise to NT$27.7 per liter for 92-octane, NT$29.2 per liter for 95-octane and NT$31.2 per liter for 98-octane unleaded, while premium diesel is to increase to NT$25.7 per liter, the company said.
Prices at privately owned Formosa’s pumps are to rise to NT$27.7, NT$29.1 and NT$31.2 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded respectively, while premium diesel is to rise to NT$25.5 per liter.
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia