Gasoline, diesel prices to rise due to soaring crudeBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices are to increase by NT$0.1 and NT$0.6 per liter respectively this week due to a rise in global crude oil prices last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said in separate statements yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$29.1, NT$30.6 and NT$32.6 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively. CPC said that based on its floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil rose 0.84 percent last week from a week earlier, as several factors affected market sentiment and boosted oil prices. A decrease in US crude oil inventories and plans by the US Department of Energy to replenish the nation’s strategic oil reserves also caused upward pressure on crude prices, Formosa said. The spike in global oil prices would have resulted in CPC increasing gasoline prices by NT$0.3 per liter and diesel prices by NT$0.8 per liter, but the company absorbed part of the increases to comply with the government’s price stabilization policy, it said.
