China limits fuel price hikes as oil costs surge
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
China's National Development and Reform Commission routinely reviews petrol and diesel prices and makes adjustments based on factors such as global crude prices.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING – China has limited the amount by which the country’s fuel costs can rise, the government announced on March 23, to mitigate surging oil prices amid a war in the Middle East.
Global oil prices have soared as the war between the US-Israel alliance and Iran has centred on the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas shipments normally transit.
“To mitigate the impact of abnormal increases in international oil prices, ease the burden on downstream users and ensure stable economic operations and public welfare, temporary regulatory measures have been adopted,” China’s state planner said in a statement.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it will hike the maximum retail prices for petrol and diesel by 1,160 yuan (S$215) and 1,115 yuan per tonne respectively, starting from midnight.
The increase is around half of what it would have been under the government’s pricing mechanism, which would have seen petrol and diesel prices raised by 2,205 yuan and 2,120 yuan per tonne respectively, it added.
The NDRC routinely reviews petrol and diesel prices and makes adjustments based on factors such as global crude prices.
In its last hike in March, the NDRC raised the maximum retail prices for petrol and diesel by 695 yuan and 670 yuan per tonne respectively. AFP
