Gasoline and diesel prices are to remain unchanged this week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday.
Based on its floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil edged up 0.4 percent last week from a week earlier as the geopolitical situation in the Middle East remained tense and US commercial crude oil inventories continued to decline, CPC said.
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures climbed 1.64 percent last week to settle at US$70.6 a barrel, while Brent increased 1.69 percent to US$74.17, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.
CPC said it would absorb part of the cost increases and use a price stabilization mechanism to comply with a government policy of keeping domestic fuel prices lower than in major neighboring markets.
Formosa followed CPC’s decision to keep prices unchanged after taking into account trends in the global oil market, the exchange rate for the New Taiwan dollar and fierce competition in the domestic market.
As a result, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to stay at NT$28.6, NT$30.1 and NT$32.1 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said.
The price of premium diesel is to remain at NT$27.3 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.1 at Formosa pumps, they said.
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