On March 17, Gaz Auto was informed by the National Development and Reform Commission that according to the recent changes in oil prices in the international market and in accordance with the current refined oil price formation mechanism, from 24:00 on March 17, 2022, the domestic gasoline and diesel prices (standard products, the same below) will increase by 750 yuan and 720 yuan per ton respectively.
Equivalent to per liter, No. 92 gasoline is 8.61 yuan / liter, No. 95 gasoline is 9.16 yuan / liter, and No. 0 diesel is 8.32 yuan / liter. Based on the calculation of ordinary private cars with an oil capacity of 50 liters, after this price adjustment, car owners will spend about 30 yuan more to fill a tank of oil.
Image source: Shanghai Development and Reform
This time set a record for the largest increase since the implementation of the pricing mechanism. After this price adjustment, the No. 95 gasoline running in most parts of the country has entered the "9 yuan era".
As the industry knows, international oil prices have fallen slightly recently, and because of this, most people have questioned the price increase of refined oil products again. In this regard, the relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission responded that the domestic refined oil price is adjusted every 10 working days, and how to adjust the price each time mainly depends on the comparison between the average international oil price in the 10 working days before the price adjustment and the average value of the previous 10 working days, and is not simply determined by the changes in international oil prices a few days before the price adjustment. After the last price adjustment (March 3), international oil prices jumped sharply, and although they have fallen back in recent days, the average of the past 10 working days is still significantly higher than the previous level.
And because the domestic refined oil price adjustment is linked to the average international oil price in the first 10 working days, there have been many times before the sharp increase in international oil prices before the price adjustment date, but the current domestic refined oil price has been lowered. For example, December 17, 2021 is the price adjustment day, the previous two working days of international oil prices rose continuously, but the current domestic gasoline and diesel prices were reduced by 130 yuan and 125 yuan per ton respectively. Similar situations occurred on price adjustment days such as July 26, March 31, 2021, and September 18, 2020.
When asked how the domestic refined oil price will be adjusted if the international oil price continues to rise, the above-mentioned person in charge said that when the international oil price continues to rise, but does not exceed 130 US dollars per barrel, the domestic refined oil price is adjusted normally according to the mechanism; if it is higher than 130 US dollars per barrel, according to the provisions of the "Oil Price Management Measures", in accordance with the principle of taking into account the interests of producers and consumers and maintaining the stable operation of the national economy, appropriate fiscal and taxation policies are adopted to ensure the production and supply of refined oil products, and the prices of gasoline and diesel are not mentioned or reduced in principle.
Image source: National Development and Reform Commission