To reflect world crude prices, domestic gasoline and diesel prices will increase by NT$0.5 and NT$0.6 per liter respectively, effective today, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) announced yesterday.
The adjustment came as prices of crude oil gained as the US dollar dropped the most in a week against the euro on speculation the US economy will worsen, increasing the appeal of commodities as a currency hedge.
Crude oil for April delivery gained as much as US$0.88, or 2 percent, to US$44.49 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude oil for April settlement traded at US$44.10 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.
After the adjustment, CPC’s price for a liter of 98-octane unleaded gasoline will be NT$25.3, 95-octane unleaded gasoline will be NT$23.8 and 92-octane unleaded gasoline will be NT$23.1. Diesel will be NT$20.3 per liter.
Rival Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced later it would match CPC’s price hikes, effective today.
Meanwhile, Formosa Petrochemical shut a fuel oil unit at Mailiao (麥寮) on March 1 for 40 days for scheduled maintenance, causing the refiner to process about 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day this month compared with 500,000 barrels last month, a company official said yesterday.
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