The formation mechanism of international and domestic oil prices is different, for example, the US dollar is bound to oil prices, and the domestic oil price is based on the Price Law. The time point of the domestic oil price increase is the May Day holiday train ticket sales, and the last time the time node of the increase was the Qingming Festival. It is not difficult to conclude that the increase in oil prices is also related to mainland holidays.
The Price Law and the Mechanism for the Formation of Oil Prices
1. The reason why the US dollar is bound to crude oil
To discuss the reasons why the US dollar is bound to crude oil, it is also necessary to base it on the history of currency formation and the principle of determining the value of the currency. In the early days of primitive society, human transactions were mainly based on barter, or personal credit. With the further increase of commodity trade, human society needs to have general commodity equivalents as a medium as a substitute for trading, that is, to promote commodity trade with money as an intermediary.
Paper money as money is a matter of modern society. Traditional societies in mainland China have always used silver and gold as currency, for example, the Ming and Qing governments in the mainland did not issue paper money. Not only that, but many countries or societies also use rare items such as shells as currency, according to which rare items as currency is a common practice in traditional societies.
In modern society, the state also issues paper money based on gold and other precious metals as the basis for measuring the value of the currency, which is the "gold standard". After World War II, the United States promoted a de-"golden" monetary policy, which aimed to replace gold with the US dollar, but the value of the US dollar also needed to be measured.
The United States was a major consumer of oil, and at that time the United States was also a region with low oil resources. For a long time, oil has been operating at a low price, and the dollar-bound oil has made outstanding or irreplaceable contributions to the development of the US economy.
The reason why the US dollar is tied to crude oil
Second, the reason for the listing of crude oil
With the advancement of science and technology, although the United States is also an exporter of natural gas and other energy sources, on the whole, the oil resources of the United States are relatively "poor". The purpose of the United States to promote the listing of oil is to induce countries rich in oil resources to follow suit, so as to control the country's oil resources. For example, U.S. capital can buy dividends from the shares of oil-producing countries, for example, a mainland oil company issued shares in the United States, and its return rate reached about 400%.
Most countries have seen through the purpose of the United States to promote the listing of oil, for example, Rosneft is independent and its oil resources are not listed and issued shares. It should also be noted that the precondition for the listing of oil in the United States and other countries is that the "oil fields" where oil is exploited are auctioned at open bidding, and according to this, the United States does not harm national interests by promoting the listing of crude oil. However, the mainland implements a licensing system for the exploitation of oil fields within its territory and in the sea area under its jurisdiction, and the listing of crude oil may not be in the national interest.
After the United States and other countries push crude oil to market, the fluctuation of oil prices mainly depends on the oil consumption market, as well as the situation in the region of the oil-producing country. With regard to the oil consumption market, with the use of new energy, the oil consumption market is actually in a state of contraction, according to which China's holidays are one of the reasons for the rise in oil prices. With regard to the situation in the crude oil region, the disputes instigated by the United States are mainly concentrated in the Middle East, Russia and other regions.
3. The Price Law and the Mechanism for the Formation of Oil Prices
The formation mechanism of domestic oil prices needs to be determined according to domestic laws, for example, in countries with rich oil resources such as Russia, domestic oil prices are "parity" and have not been adjusted with international oil prices. Accordingly, the basis of the adjustment mechanism for domestic oil prices on the mainland should be the "Price Law", let alone the stock market prices set up by Western countries, otherwise, mainland holidays will be the basis for fluctuations in crude oil prices.
The U.S. dollar is tied to crude oil, which strengthens the position of the U.S. dollar. The mainland oil price adjustment mechanism follows the international crude oil price, and in another sense, it is not conducive to promoting the international use of the renminbi. Accordingly, the domestic oil prices of most oil-producing countries do not "target" the international crude oil price, but "closely follow" the international crude oil price when trading with foreign oil, thus safeguarding the national interest.
In the mainland, oil resources may be scarce, for example, although the mainland has discovered many large "oil fields", it is still a major oil importer. Article 18 (2) of the Price Law clearly stipulates that the government may, when necessary, implement government-guided prices or government-set prices for a small number of commodities where resources are scarce.
The Price Law and the Mechanism for the Formation of Oil Prices
It is true that the National Development and Reform Commission has the right to set prices on behalf of the government, but it should not base the mainland's domestic oil prices on the time of the rise in international oil prices, because the adjustment of international oil prices has taken the mainland's holidays as a reference factor. The mainland should reserve oil and release it before the holiday season in response to the exploitation of mainland oil consumers by Western capital.