Outlook for oil price adjustment in May 2024
With the advent of the seventh working day on May 12, the domestic refined oil price adjustment window is about to open. According to the current trend and expectation of crude oil prices at home and abroad, the market generally expects that domestic gasoline and diesel prices will usher in a downward adjustment during this price adjustment cycle.
Calls for lower oil prices are rising
Recently, international oil prices have continued to fall, which has formed a certain downward pressure on domestic refined oil prices. According to preliminary estimates, in this round of price adjustment cycle, gasoline and diesel prices may be reduced by about 200 yuan/ton. Converted to the terminal retail price of gas stations, this means that the price of gasoline and diesel will be reduced by about 0.15 yuan/liter and 0.17 yuan/liter respectively.
The expectations of all parties for this round of oil price reduction are worth paying attention to. A number of professional institutions and news media generally predict that this round of price adjustment will be lowered. Consumers and car owners have also expressed their hopes, hoping that the government can comply with market expectations and reduce oil prices in a timely manner to alleviate the increasingly heavy burden of production and living costs.
The demand for energy conservation and environmental protection continues to grow
Nonetheless, we also need to be cautious about the impact of lower domestic oil prices. At present, the mainland is in a period of economic transition, and although the demand for fossil energy has slowed down, the overall demand remains at a relatively high level. At the same time, the public's awareness of energy conservation and environmental protection is constantly increasing, and the attention of all walks of life to environmental protection fields such as new energy vehicles and clean energy is also continuing to heat up.
In the face of this situation, relevant policymakers will need to balance economic development, people's living costs, resources and environmental pressures and other factors, carefully grasp the pace of price adjustment, and strive to achieve the organic unity of multiple interests.
Pay attention to the long-term mechanism of oil price regulation
At this stage, the government has carried out a series of reforms to the pricing mechanism of refined oil products, aiming to establish a more transparent, reasonable and timely reflection of market changes in a long-term mechanism for price adjustment. However, the establishment process of this mechanism is not achieved overnight, and many core links such as price adjustment cycle and deviation management need to be continuously improved.
It is worth expecting that in this context, the impact of crude oil capacity and price fluctuations will be more directly transmitted to terminal oil prices. This not only protects the rights and interests of automobile consumers, but also helps to improve the overall efficiency of energy resources in the mainland. We will wait and see what the future trend of oil prices will be and what impact the price adjustment policy will have.
In general, as the window for a new round of oil price adjustment is about to open, calls for oil price reductions are rising. No matter how the price is adjusted, it is necessary to implement the government's policies and guidelines to protect people's livelihood and promote energy innovation in the overall situation of economic and social development, further improve the formation of a long-term mechanism for oil prices, and effectively safeguard the vital interests of the people.