Taipei: CPC Corp., Taiwan, the nation’s state-run oil supplier, announced it will keep gasoline and diesel prices unchanged for the upcoming week as part of efforts to stabilize domestic consumer prices. This marks the third consecutive week that CPC has maintained its domestic fuel prices, amidst volatile global oil prices due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

According to Focus Taiwan, the recommended retail gasoline prices will remain at NT$32.4 (US$1.03), NT$33.9, and NT$35.9 per liter for 92, 95, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline, respectively. These prices will be effective from midnight Monday through April 26. The premium diesel price will also stay at NT$31.0 per liter. CPC has committed to absorbing losses of NT$3.6 and NT$5.4 per liter for gasoline and diesel, respectively, to keep domestic prices lower than neighboring markets and stabilize inflation.

CPC’s pricing mechanism relies on a combination of 70 percent Dubai and 30 percent Brent crude prices. This week, the average international oil price was US$107.44 per barrel, a decrease from last week’s US$115.99 per barrel. Additionally, the average exchange rate of the Taiwan dollar strengthened to NT$31.655 against the U.S. dollar, up from NT$31.807 last week. Consequently, CPC will not need to absorb the previous week’s losses of NT$5.6 and NT$7.5 per liter for gasoline and diesel, respectively.

Since the United States and Israel’s military actions against Iran at the end of February, CPC has incurred estimated losses of about NT$11.47 billion. Nevertheless, the company remains committed to following government directives to mitigate the impact of high international crude oil prices on domestic consumer prices and businesses.