Taipei:State-owned oil supplier CPC Corp., Taiwan, announced on Saturday that it will maintain domestic gasoline and diesel prices unchanged for the upcoming week. This decision aims to alleviate inflationary pressures despite persistently high international crude prices due to military tensions in the Middle East.
According to Focus Taiwan, this will mark the fifth consecutive week that CPC has kept its fuel prices steady. Concerns over potential global oil supply disruptions have influenced market sentiment, causing Brent crude oil prices to reach their highest level since May.
CPC's statement confirmed that the recommended retail prices for 92-, 95-, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline will remain at NT$31.2 (US$0.96), NT$32.7, and NT$34.7 per liter, respectively, from midnight Sunday through October 25. The premium diesel price will also stay at NT$29.9 per liter during this period.
Under its floating fuel price mechanism, CPC tracks a weighted average of 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude. The average international crude oil price slightly decreased from US$114.65 per barrel last week to US$113.77 per barrel this week. However, the weaker Taiwan dollar, averaging NT$32.131 against the U.S. dollar compared to NT$31.810 the previous week, has increased the financial burden on CPC for overseas crude oil purchases.
By choosing to keep fuel prices unchanged, CPC expects to absorb losses of NT$6.9 per liter on gasoline sales and NT$8.8 per liter on diesel sales next week. Since the Middle East tensions began at the end of February, CPC has absorbed a total of NT$28.99 billion in losses, as it has not fully transferred the higher crude oil costs to consumers and businesses under the government's price stabilization measures.
