CPC to cut domestic gasoline, diesel prices next week

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) State-owned oil supplier CPC Corp., Taiwan, announced on Saturday that it will cut its domestic gasoline and diesel prices by NT$1 (US$0.03) and NT$0.8 per liter, respectively, to respond to a fall in international crude oil prices.

It was the second consecutive week that CPC had decided to lower domestic fuel prices as the United States and Iran entered negotiations for a ceasefire and an increase in shipment volumes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the two weekly cuts in domestic fuel prices, CPC had maintained the prices at the same level for 11 weeks in a row, by absorbing losses from a spike in crude oil prices, to ease inflationary pressure on both local consumers and businesses.

After the decision, CPC said in a statement that it would recommend that retail prices fall to NT$30.4, NT$31.9 and NT$33.9 per liter for 92, 95, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline, respectively, from midnight on Monday through July 5.

The recommended price for premium diesel will also fall to NT$29.5 per liter during the same period, CPC said.

Under CPC's floating price mechanism, which is based on a weighting of 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude, the average international oil price fell to US$69.80 per barrel this week, down from US$76.39 last week.

While more ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz recently, an attack on a container cargo ship owned by Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp. on Thursday has renewed safety concerns in the strait.

According to Evergreen Marine, the Singapore-registered container ship Ever Lovely was hit by unknown projectile, but no injuries were sustained by the ship's personnel, and the vessel and cargo remained unharmed.

Since the war in the Middle East broke out, CPC estimates it will have absorbed NT$17.26 billion in losses as of Sunday, by not reflecting the full increase of international crude oil costs in local fuel prices.