Gasoline prices are to drop NT$0.3 per liter this week due to a fall in global crude oil prices last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said in separate statements yesterday.
Crude oil prices fell last week after OPEC forecast a slight oversupply in the oil market for next quarter, the companies said.
Oil prices also dropped amid heightened fears of a global economic slowdown amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and the financial crisis at Credit Suisse Group AG in Europe, they said.
Gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations today are to decrease to NT$28.9, NT$30.4 and NT$32.4 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said.
However, the price of premium diesel is to rise NT$0.5 per liter to NT$27.6 at CPC stations, and to NT$27.4 at Formosa pumps this week, after the companies factored in their oil price formulas, domestic market competition and global market trends, they said.
Separately, the government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies after the closing of a nuclear reactor increased the need for alternative power sources.
CPC, which supplies gas to Taiwan’s power utility, last week purchased through a tender a minimum of 10 LNG cargoes for delivery between May this year and March next year, traders with knowledge of the matter said.
The purchases are part of a larger strategy to secure LNG over the next year amid lower nuclear output, the traders said.
The Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 reactor in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) retired last week upon reaching its service lifetime of 40 years.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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