Chinese Petroleum Raised Gasoline Prices

Chinese Petroleum Corp., Taiwan's state-owned oil refiner, has raised gasoline and diesel prices by as much as 2.8 percent, the second successive weekly increase under a system reflecting international oil trading.

Domestic wholesale gasoline prices rose by 40 NT cents a liter and those of diesel climbed by 50 NT cents, the Taipei-based company said in a statement posted on its Web site yesterday.

Chinese Petroleum has since Sept. 27 linked domestic gasoline and diesel prices to benchmark crude oil trades in New York. It adjusts the charges once a week, based on changes in the crude oil price over the previous seven days. The company has cut prices twice since the system took effect.

Today's increase has brought the retail price of 95-RON gasoline to NT$27 a liter and of prime-grade diesel to NT$23.1 at Chinese Petroleum-run stations, the company said.