Beginning today, both the state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the nation’s only publicly traded oil refiner, will raise domestic gasoline and diesel prices by NT$1.5 per liter and NT$1.6 per liter respectively.
After the price hike, prices for domestic 92-unleaded, 95-unleaded, 98-unleaded gasoline and diesel will be NT$35.4 per liter, NT$36.1 per liter, NT$37.6 per liter and NT$33.5 per liter respectively.
In response to the planned price hikes, drivers yesterday lined up in front of gas stations to pump gas.
The government is sharing a portion of the burden of increasing oil prices by decreasing commodity taxes on gasoline and diesel by NT$1.3 per liter and NT$1.4 per liter respectively, while CPC will absorb NT$1.3 per liter and NT$1.4 per liter, CPC’s latest press release showed.
CPC vice president and spokesman Chu Shao-hua (朱少華), said by telephone yesterday that CPC will continue to absorb losses from increases in oil prices until the end of the year, with losses this year extimated to be around NT$85 billion.
Formosa Petrochemical figures showed that Dubai crude oil prices jumped 6.96 percent month-on-month to US$127.82 per barrel last month, from US$119.5 per barrel in May.
On May 28, after freezing domestic oil prices for seven months CPC raised domestic gasoline and diesel prices by NT$3.9 per liter and NT$4.4 per liter respectively. Formosa Petrochemical followed the next day by raising gasoline and diesel prices by NT$1.1 per liter and NT$1.3 per liter respectively.
Bureau of Energy Director-General Yeh Huey-ching (葉惠青) said that as some consumers expected oil prices to continue rising this month, the amount of fuel dispensed at CPC’s gas stations had gone up to 23 million liters per day over the past few days, up from 18.5 million liters per day, but this was still within a reasonable range.
SHARES DECLINE
Meanwhile, Taiwanese shares closed down 1.5 percent yesterday to a 16-month low partly due to Wall Street volatility, dealers said.
The weighted index closed down 115.56 points at the day’s low of 7,407.98 on thin trading volume of NT$86.06 billion (US$2.83 billion).
“Surging oil prices, which brought down Wall Street prices overnight, remained the major concern of local investors,” said Chen Yu-yu (陳育榆) of Capital Securities (群益證券).
Crude oil hit a record high of US$143.67 per barrel overnight before pulling back.
“If we can hold at 7,384 tomorrow, the market will bottom out there and rebound,” KGI Securities’ (中信證券) Randy Chang (張修華) said.
Dealers said government funds were likely to have purchased large-caps such as Formosa Petrochemical, which rose 2.1 percent to NT$81.90.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft