According to the National Development and Reform Commission, a new round of refined oil price adjustment window will open at 24:00 today (March 17). According to the price monitoring center of the National Development and Reform Commission, the international oil prices rose and fell during the current round of refined oil price adjustment cycle (March 3-March 16). On average, brent in London and WTI in New York rose sharply by 13.32% over the previous round of price adjustment cycle. Affected by this, the retail prices of domestic gasoline and diesel have been increased accordingly.
Domestic refined oil prices have been raised
Filling up a tank of oil will cost an extra $29.50
The reporter learned from the National Development and Reform Commission that the specific circumstances of the oil price adjustment are as follows: the domestic gasoline and diesel prices are increased by 750 yuan and 720 yuan per ton respectively.
On average, No. 92 gasoline was raised by 0.59 yuan per liter; No. 95 gasoline was raised by 0.62 yuan per liter; and No. 0 diesel was raised by 0.62 yuan per liter.
The reporter calculated an account for you, according to the general household car fuel tank 50L capacity estimate, fill a tank of No. 92 gasoline, will cost an extra 29.5 yuan.
Relevant responsible comrades of the National Development and Reform Commission answered reporters' questions on the adjustment of refined oil prices
Since 24:00 today, the price of domestic refined oil products has been raised according to the mechanism. In this regard, the reporter interviewed relevant responsible comrades of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Q: How have international oil prices changed since the beginning of this year?
A: Since the beginning of this year, the global oil market supply and demand have been tight, geopolitical events have occurred frequently, and international oil prices have continued to rise, taking brent crude oil futures as an example (the same below), which was $96.8 per barrel on February 23, up 22.6% from the beginning of the year. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on February 24, international oil prices rose rapidly, and on March 7, the intraday session once exceeded $139 per barrel, a new high in 13 years, and then it has fallen back to about $100 per barrel, still higher than the level before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Q: International oil prices have fallen in recent days, why are they still raising the price of refined oil products?
A: According to the relevant provisions of the Measures for the Administration of Oil Prices, the maximum retail price of domestic refined oil products is adjusted every 10 working days, and how the price is adjusted 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 in 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.
Since the domestic refined oil price adjustment is linked to the average international oil price in the previous 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.
Q: If international oil prices continue to rise, how will domestic refined oil prices be adjusted?
Answer: 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 under-mentioned in principle.
The situation in Russia and Ukraine still affects oil prices
Maximum uncertainty
At the beginning of the last price adjustment period, the market panicked about the reduction in crude oil supply caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which triggered a sharp rise in oil prices. The United States announced a ban on imports of Russian crude oil, and some European countries have also proposed plans to reduce their dependence on Russian energy. OPEC insisted on a slight increase in production, ignoring the demands of major energy consumers in Europe and the United States to increase production. The market is worried about a large gap in global crude oil supply, panic psychology has driven oil prices to rise more than expected many times, and the highest settlement prices of Brent in London and WTI crude oil futures in New York rose to nearly 14-year highs of $128 per barrel and $124 respectively. Since then, the Russian-Ukrainian talks have made progress, the United States released the news of lifting the ban on Iran and Venezuelan crude oil exports, speculative funds sold long positions, and oil prices fell significantly from the highs, but the average price was still significantly higher than the previous cycle. Compared with the last price adjustment cycle, the oil prices of Brent in London and WTI in New York rose sharply by 12.73% and 13.91% respectively.
The Price Monitoring Center of the National Development and Reform Commission expects that both supply and demand factors will have an impact on oil prices in the short term, and the situation in Russia and Ukraine is still the biggest uncertainty affecting oil prices. On the supply side, concerns about the shortage of crude oil supply have not been effectively alleviated, and the International Energy Agency expects Russia's crude oil production capacity of about 3 million barrels per day to be forced to close due to export blockages. Major crude oil consumers in Europe and the United States and OPEC are still in a game over whether to increase production. On the demand side, high oil prices and the rebound of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in some regions have had a dampening effect on crude oil demand. On the whole, oil prices will be dominated by shock operations in the later period, and if Russia and Ukraine reach an armistice agreement, oil prices will still have a relatively large room for decline.
Oil price changes at a glance during the year
Source: Volkswagen