Taiwan’s two major fuel suppliers yesterday announced a drop in fuel prices for this week, citing a slowdown in China’s economic growth in the second quarter. This is to be the second week in a row that fuel prices have fallen.
State-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said it would cut gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter, effective today.
After the adjustment, prices at CPC gas stations would be NT$27.2 per liter for 92-octane unleaded, NT$28.7 for 95-octane unleaded, NT$30.7 for 98-octane unleaded and NT$25.1 for super diesel.
CPC said that although international crude oil prices have rebounded following six straight weeks of falling US crude inventory levels and ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the slowdown in China’s second-quarter GDP growth offset the increase.
China’s growth slowed to its slowest in almost three decades in the second quarter, at 6.2 percent, compared with a 6.4 percent expansion in the first quarter, official data showed on July 15.
CPC said the price of its crude oil, calculated using a weighted oil price formula composed of 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude, dropped US$0.64 last week to US$62.83 per barrel.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced identical price adjustments, with prices at its gas stations from today to be NT$27.2 per liter for 92-octane unleaded, NT$28.6 for 95-octane unleaded, NT$30.7 for 98-octane unleaded and NT$24.9 for diesel.
Additional reporting by AFP
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