China lowers gasoline, diesel prices
- Source: xinhua
- [08:35 July 29 2009]
- Comments
China will cut gasoline and diesel prices from Wednesday by 220 yuan ($32.4) per ton, or by about 3 percent each, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Tuesday.
The retail price of gasoline will drop by about 0.16 yuan per liter, and that of diesel by about 0.19 yuan per liter, the commission said in a statement issued after a news briefing.
A staff member works at a gas station in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, July 28, 2009.(Xinhua/Li Jian)
The benchmark prices of gasoline would be reduced to 6,910 yuan per tonne, and that of diesel to 6,170 yuan per ton.
The price cut was in response to recent falls in global crude prices, which had dropped to $63.97 per barrel from $67.8 on June 30, according to the statement.
Global crude prices, despite recent rebounds, experienced consecutive falls in the first half of this month, said the statement.
The NDRC is basing its adjustment of domestic fuel prices on three kinds of global crude prices, but the commission did not reveal the structure of the three prices.
On Monday, light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 33 cents to settle at $68.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. London Brent for September delivery rose 50 cents to 70.82 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
It is the sixth fuel price adjustment since the country adopted a new fuel pricing mechanism, which took effect on Jan. 1.
The Chinese government has lowered retail fuel prices in December, before the new mechanism became effective, and again in January. It also raised prices once in March and twice last month.
Under the pricing mechanism, the NDRC would consider changing benchmark retail prices of oil products when the international crude price rises or falls by a daily average of 4 percent over 20 days.
The two price rises last month were slight, said the statement, in an effort to quell doubts over frequent price hikes.
The country's latest fuel price hike on Jan. 30 sparked widespread debate as consumers grumbled that the record domestic prices were even higher than in the United States.
However, according to the NDRC statement, post-rise prices on June 30 translated into about $60 per barrel, which was $7.8 lower than the international price that day.
