Oil price hike likely in October

By Shangguan Zhoudong (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-09 15:09

Sinopec will have more and more pressures to make profits if the international oil price continues to rise, so lifting the price of refined oil through administrative means will be a better solution to relax the pressure, the insider said.

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Statistics show that crude oil for August delivery was priced at $71.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on July 2, the highest close since last August.

China decided to cut the price of gasoline by 220 yuan per ton on January 14 this year. This is the second time in five years that China has lowered the prices of refined oil. The last price cut was in May 2005 when the international price declined.

China has raised the price for refined oil products 12 times since 2003, including twice in 2006.


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