CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) have left domestic gasoline and diesel prices unchanged this week to ease the impact on consumer prices amid the continuing conflicts in the Middle East.
It would be the ninth consecutive week that CPC and Formosa have maintained domestic gasoline and diesel prices at the same level to encounter rising inflationary pressure and to comply with a government pricing mechanism.
Retail gasoline prices remain at NT$32.4 (US$1.03), NT$33.9, and NT$35.9 per liter for 92, 95, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively at CPC and Formosa stations, the companies said.
Prices for premium diesel are to stay at NT$31.0 per liter at CPC stations and NT$30.8 at Formosa pumps, the companies added.
Global oil markets were up and down last week as investors assessed the chances of a breakthrough deal between the US and Iran that could potentially resume shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
However, analysts said that oil traders seem to be betting that the conflict is nearing a resolution, keeping price gains muted.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.7 percent to settle at US$87.36 a barrel on Friday, while global benchmark Brent crude oil was down 1.8 percent to US$92.05 a barrel.
Under CPC’s floating price mechanism, which is based on a weighting of 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude, its average oil cost fell to US$99.36 per barrel last week, from US$107.56 the previous week.
Since the US-Israel war against Iran broke out on Feb. 28, CPC estimated it would have absorbed NT$16.66 billion in losses as of yesterday.
Separately, CPC said it would also keep domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices unchanged this month despite rising international LPG prices.
While tensions in the Middle East have pushed up shipping costs, prices for LPG cylinders, industrial propane, butane, propane-butane fuel mixtures and automotive LPG would remain unchanged from last month, CPC said.
The company said it had absorbed NT$4.2 billion in losses on domestic LPG sales in the first four months of the year.
Meanwhile, prices for natural gas used by households and the service sector would also remain unchanged this month to help stabilize consumer prices and ease pressure on families and small businesses, CPC said.
However, natural gas prices for industrial customers would rise by an average of 5 percent this month to reflect higher costs amid geopolitical unease, the company said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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