CPC to cut domestic gasoline, diesel prices next week

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) State-run oil supplier CPC Corp., Taiwan announced Saturday that it will cut domestic gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.6 (US$0.02) and NT$0.7 per liter, respectively, in response to a fall in international crude oil prices.

It marked the third consecutive week that CPC has lowered domestic fuel prices as crude oil prices moved lower in consolidation, although the United States and Iran have failed to reach agreement on ensuring free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

After the decision, CPC said in a statement that it would lower prices to NT$29.8, NT$31.3 and NT$33.3 per liter for 92, 95, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline, respectively, effective from midnight on Monday through July 12.

The price for premium diesel will also be lowered to NT$28.8 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$67.05 per barrel this week, down from US$69.80 last week despite a weaker Taiwan dollar against the U.S. dollar.

Before the third consecutive cut for next week, CPC had left its retail fuel prices unchanged for 11 weeks in a row under the government's price stabilization measures, to ease inflationary pressure amid a spike in crude oil prices and keep domestic prices lower than in neighboring markets.

Since the war in the Middle East broke out, CPC estimates it will have absorbed about NT$16.71 billion in losses as of Sunday, by not fully reflecting higher international crude oil costs in domestic fuel prices.