BEIJING, Aug 22: China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, may consider raising the prices of gasoline and diesel again next month as a basket of crude oil prices has risen to hit a trigger point, data from an energy consultancy showed.
The 22-day moving average price of Brent, Dubai and Cinta on August 21 was 4.25 percent above the level when China last raised fuel prices, data from C1 Energy showed on Wednesday. (www.Icis-china.Com)
But the government may only consider such a move in mid-Septemper, about a month after Beijing’s last hike on August 10, under the current one-month review period.
An increase in crude benchmarks by more than 4 percent over a 22-working-day period typically triggers a hike under China’s current pricing regime, although the government often postpones any rise if it is worried about inflationary pressures.
China’s annual consumer inflation fell to a 30-month low of 1.8 percent in July from June’s 2.2 percent.
China has been considering a revamp of the current fuel pricing scheme to better reflect refining costs, with plans to lower the trigger point, shorten the adjustment period and change the composition of the basket of crudes to which pump prices are linked.
For a table of China fuel prices, see
(agencies)
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