CPC Keeps Fuel Prices Steady Amid Ongoing Strait Tensions
CPC Corp., Taiwan has announced that domestic gasoline and diesel prices will remain unchanged next week. This decision marks the third consecutive week of steady fuel prices despite a rise in crude oil prices due to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The average international crude oil price rose from US$82.20 per barrel last week to US$89.84 this week, but CPC's floating price mechanism helped offset this increase with a weaker U.S. dollar. The Taiwan dollar averaged NT$32.194 against the U.S. dollar this week compared to NT$32.350 last week.
CPC estimates it will incur losses of NT$2.2 per liter on gasoline sales and NT$3.5 per liter on diesel sales next week due to the spike in crude oil prices. The company has absorbed NT$16.6 billion in losses since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East by not fully passing higher international crude oil costs on to consumers and businesses.