Taipei: State-owned oil supplier CPC Corp., Taiwan announced on Saturday that it will maintain the current domestic gasoline and diesel prices for the upcoming week. This move marks the fifth consecutive week that CPC has upheld the same pricing levels under the government's price stabilization initiatives.
According to Focus Taiwan, CPC's decision to keep prices unchanged means that retail prices for 92, 95, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline will remain at NT$30.5 (US$0.96), NT$32.0, and NT$34.0 per liter, respectively, from midnight on Monday through September 6. The price for premium diesel will also stay at NT$29.3 per liter during the same period.
CPC stated that its floating price mechanism, which is based on a weighted average of 70 percent Dubai and 30 percent Brent crude, indicated a decrease in the average international crude oil price from US$93.01 per barrel last week to US$91.56 this week. The decline is attributed to rumors of a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, leading to lower international crude oil prices. Additionally, a stronger Taiwan dollar against the U.S. dollar has further reduced CPC's purchasing costs.
Despite these developments, CPC is projected to incur losses of NT$2.3 per liter on gasoline sales and NT$3.6 per liter on diesel sales next week. The company estimates that by Sunday, it will have absorbed NT$18.03 billion in losses since the onset of the Middle East conflict. This financial strain stems from CPC's decision not to fully pass on the higher international crude oil costs to consumers and businesses in order to alleviate domestic inflationary pressures.