Further reductions in gasoline, diesel prices at the pump

A member of staff adjusts the price at a gas station in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Feb 28, 2015. [Zhao Qirui/for China Daily]

The retail gasoline price has been cut by 240 yuan ($38.73) a metric ton, or 0.18 yuan per liter, and diesel by 230 yuan a metric ton, or 0.2 yuan per liter, starting from Friday.

After the retail price cut, the benchmark price of 90-octane grade gasoline will be 5.73 yuan a liter.

Reacting to ongoing fluctuations in global crude prices, China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, has raised the retail fuel prices twice and cut them twice before this latest reduction.

After global crude prices started to plunge in June, the retail fuel price was cut 11 times in a row in the second half of last year.

Xue Qun, an oil analyst with domestic data consultancy firm Shandong Longzhong Information Technology Co, said this latest round of cuts will save drivers of family-sized cars around 7 yuan to 10 yuan per 500 kilometers, with commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks expected to save 70 yuan per 1,000 km.

"The Chinese traditional holiday Tomb-Sweeping Day in early April normally brings a rise in gas consumption as large numbers of families travel by car during the holiday," she said.

The price cut will also benefit the domestic transportation and aviation industries by reducing their fuel costs, but oil companies will be hit by lower refining prices and weaker downstream demand.

According to ICIS C1 Energy, a Shanghai-based energy information consultancy, the domestic refined oil market has been weak in recent weeks in anticipation of further price cuts with oil traders and gas stations buying fewer oil-related products.

Liang Dan, an analyst with ICIS C1, said the low crude price has failed to stimulate demand and stocks will remain high for some time to come, although the start in construction of infrastructure projects in April should increase demand for diesel.

China has used its current retail fuel pricing mechanism since March 2013, with price adjustments linked to world oil prices and changes made roughly every 10 days.

During the past two years, there have been 24 cuts and 13 rises in fuel prices.

After all the adjustments, the gasoline price has been cut by 2,435 yuan a ton in total and diesel by 2,655 yuan a ton since then.

According to the China Petroleum Enterprise Association, China's retail oil prices had four rises and 15 cuts in 2014.

The association expects China's demand for refined oil products to grow at a slower rate this year because of the economic slowdown and energy structure adjustment.

According to the mechanism, the authority will adjust the retail oil price again on April 10.