Taipei: State-run oil refiner CPC Corp., Taiwan has announced that gasoline and diesel prices at its stations across Taiwan will remain unchanged over the Lunar New Year holiday, effective from midnight Sunday. The decision comes in the wake of anticipated fuel price hikes due to rising international oil prices. According to Focus Taiwan, the prices will be capped at NT$27.2 (US$0.86) per liter for 92-octane, NT$28.7 for 95-octane, NT$30.7 for 98-octane gasoline, and NT$26.6 for premium diesel from February 16 to 23. The move is part of a broader effort to maintain stable domestic fuel costs amidst increasing demand driven by the Northern Hemisphere's winter fuel consumption and a significant rise in the U.S. February consumer confidence index. CPC revealed that under the usual weekly fuel price adjustment formula, gasoline and diesel prices would have increased by NT$1.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively. However, the company has decided to absorb these increases to keep domestic fuel prices below those i n neighboring Asian countries. Furthermore, under the government's Lunar New Year price stabilization policy, CPC will absorb an additional NT$0.1 for diesel, ensuring that both gasoline and diesel prices remain unchanged during the holiday period. Since the beginning of the year, CPC has absorbed around NT$14 million in fuel price increases as part of its commitment to stabilizing domestic costs.