CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) on Saturday said that it would leave domestic gasoline and diesel prices unchanged this week, while Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday announced a similar move, despite international crude oil prices remaining elevated.
CPC Chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) told reporters that the state-run company’s decision was made in line with government instructions to stabilize consumer prices and ease pressure on local industries amid ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East.
CPC also took into account subsidy policies in neighboring markets to ensure Taiwan continues to have the lowest retail gasoline and diesel prices in the region, Fang said.
Formosa set its price adjustments in line with CPC’s after accounting for trends in the global oil market, price conditions in regional economies, the New Taiwan dollar exchange rate and fierce competition in the domestic market, the company said.
Effective today, retail gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations would remain at NT$32.4 (US$1.02), NT$33.9 and NT$35.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel would stay at NT$31 per liter at CPC stations and NT$30.8 per liter at Formosa pumps.
It would be the second consecutive week that the two companies have kept domestic fuel prices unchanged.
Under the latest pricing, CPC is expected to absorb NT$5.6 per liter for gasoline and NT$7.5 per liter for diesel this week, although the burden would be lower than the previous week, Fang said.
Since the US-Israel war against Iran began on Feb. 28, CPC is estimated to have absorbed about NT$10.7 billion in costs due to rising international crude oil prices under the government’s price stabilization mechanism, Fang added.
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