CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said they would raise gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter this week, effective today, after keeping their fuel prices unchanged last week.
Prices at CPC stations would rise to NT$28.3, NT$29.8 and NT$31.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while the price of premium diesel would increase to NT$25.4 per liter, CPC said in a statement.
Prices at Formosa stations would rise to NT$28.3, NT$29.7 and NT$31.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while the price of premium diesel would increase to NT$25.2 per liter.
State-run CPC said that based on its floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil last week increased 3.35 percent from a week earlier, as oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has not yet fully recovered from Hurricane Ida and Tropical Storm Nicholas, while major oil-producing countries in Africa face difficulties in increasing oil production.
Based on the formula, its gasoline and diesel prices would have increased by NT$1.2 and NT$2.2 per liter respectively, but CPC decided to absorb the cost increase to comply with government policy, it said.
Formosa said in a separate statement that surging natural gas prices had led to increased demand for fuel for power generation, which in turn pushed up crude oil prices.
However, a stronger US dollar and an unexpected increase in US crude oil inventories capped the increase in oil prices last week, Formosa added.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,