Following the surge in international crude oil prices in the past week, China will raise the domestic retail prices of gasoline and diesel, effective July 18, the state economic planning commission said on Friday.
The National Development and Reform Commission, which regularly adjusts the caps on retail prices based on the price of oil on the global market, today announced that the gasoline price would go up by 300 Chinese yuan, or by $44.29, per ton, as of Saturday.
The retail diesel price will rise by 290 yuan, or $42.82, per ton, China’s top economic planner said.
“The latest pricing cycle was marked by volatile gains in international crude oil prices amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, pushing the average crude price over the 10 working days preceding the adjustment above that of the previous pricing cycle,” Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Liu Bingjuan, chief energy analyst with information service provider Oilchem, as saying.
In addition, the NDRC ordered the state refining giants CNPC, Sinopec, and CNOOC “to maintain production and facilitate transportation to ensure stable supplies.”
The retail prices of fuels are expected to rise not only in the centrally planned Chinese market but in all markets, including the U.S.
Early on Friday, crude oil prices were on track for a 12% weekly jump, the biggest weekly gain since April, as the re-escalation in the Middle East and the abrupt halt to the recovery of Strait of Hormuz flows pushed crude futures prices to the highest in over a month.
The U.S. average price of gasoline is pennies from reaching $4 per gallon again, while the average national price of diesel hit $5 a gallon on Thursday, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said late on Thursday.
Americans spent $308 million more on gasoline on Thursday, July 16, than the same day a year ago, De Haan added.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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