China hikes fuel prices to highest levels in more than a decade

Reuters

BEIJING: China’s retail gasoline prices have been hiked to levels not seen since at least 2006 while diesel prices were increased to a decade-high after global oil benchmarks surged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As of Friday, retail gasoline prices will rise by 750 yuan ($118) a tonne and diesel prices by 720 yuan a tonne, the National Development and Reform Commission said. They are the biggest hikes since the current pricing mechanism was introduced in 2013.

Beijing, for example, will see its gasoline prices jump to 10,770 yuan a tonne and its diesel prices climb to 9,695 yuan a tonne. Local authorities set different prices though they will all implement the hike.
Under China’s pricing system, retail fuel prices are assessed every 10 working days to reflect global crude oil benchmarks so long as the benchmark prices move between $40 and $130. Outside that band, retail prices do not change or only move marginally.

Brent prices hit a peak of $139.13 a barrel on March 7 but have since eased, trading at $102 on Thursday. That compares with levels of around $99 before the Feb.24 invasion.

The surge in prices has prompted China’s independent refiners, known as teapots, to cut production.
Operational rates in Shandong province, China’s oil refining hub, fell to a two-year low of 57.09% last week, according to China-based energy consultancy JLC.

China’s daily oil throughput in the first two months of 2022 fell to its lowest since Decemeber 2020. State-backed Sinopec said its refineries were running at “fairly high” operational rates to ensure steady fuel supply.

Fuel demand is, however, being hit by a resurgence in Covid cases. In cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, residents have been ordered to stay at home and factories have been shut. Road traffic there slid 38% and 27% from a year ago on Wednesday, Baidu data suggested.

Warehouses at all ports in Shenzhen are shut until March 20, while delivery and pick up services in some southern Chinese cities have also been suspended.

قنا

بكين: ارتفعت أسعار بيع البنزين بالتجزئة في الصين إلى مستويات لم تشهدها منذ عام 2006، بينما زادت أسعار الديزل إلى أعلى مستوى لها منذ عشرة أعوام بعد صعود أسعار النفط العالمية في أعقاب التصعيد العسكري الروسي ضد أوكرانيا.

وقالت اللجنة الوطنية للتنمية والإصلاح الصينية إن أسعار التجزئة للبنزين سترتفع اعتبارا من اليوم بواقع 750 يوانا (118 دولارا) للطن، وستزيد أسعار الديزل 720 يوانا للطن، وهي أكبر زيادات منذ اعتماد آلية التسعير الحالية في عام 2013.

وستشهد العاصمة بكين على سبيل المثال قفزة في أسعار البنزين إلى 10770 يوانا للطن، وارتفاع أسعار الديزل إلى 9695 يوانا للطن.

وبموجب نظام التسعير الصيني، يتم تقييم أسعار التجزئة للوقود كل عشرة أيام عمل لتعكس أسعار النفط الخام القياسية العالمية طالما أن هذه الأسعار تتحرك بين 40 و130 دولارا.

وبلغت ذروة أسعار برنت 139.13 دولار للبرميل في السابع من مارس، لكنها تراجعت منذ ذلك الحين، حيث يجري تداولها حاليا عند متوسط 102 دولارات، وكانت مستوياتها تحوم عند 99 دولارا قبل بداية التصعيد العسكري الروسي في 24 فبراير.