Local refiners raise fuel prices as US inventories swell

State-owned refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday announced that it is raising its domestic gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.2 per liter today.

The average cost of its crude oil rose to US$48.85 per barrel this week from NT$47.89 a week earlier, reflecting concerns about a steady increase in US crude oil inventories and lower investment by the largest US independent refiners this year, which might prompt other shale oil producers to follow suit, CPC said.

After taking into account an appreciation of NT$0.084 in the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar during the week, CPC said it decided to hike wholesale prices for its fuels by 1.38 percent.

Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the nation’s only privately owned refiner and CPC’s main rival, announced similar price increases on Saturday, citing a rise in international crude oil prices dermes hk.