Gasoline, diesel prices rise in China amid global pickup

A worker fills up a car with fuel at a gas station in Lianyungang city, East China's Jiangsu province, Feb 9, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Under the current retail oil pricing system, China will announce the next price adjustment on Feb 27. Li predicted that prices will either rise again or remain unchanged.

However, Xu Ying, an oil product analyst at the consultancy, said there is still a big possibility that global crude prices will fall in the long term.

"Added to the fact that there is still a domestic oversupply in China, it is risky for traders to increase stocks at present," she said.

Xue Qun, an analyst at the consultancy, said the price rises will increase costs for drivers fueling their vehicles for Spring Festival travel.

According to the consultancy, fuel costs for the logistics sector will increase by 90 yuan for each 1,000 km for large delivery trucks.

The price of US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery rose by 65 cents to $52.34, while Brent crude for delivery the same month rose by 35 cents to $58.15 in midmorning trade on Monday.

Last week, the price of West Texas Intermediate surged by 13.6 percent and Brent added 9.4 percent.