Taipei: CPC Corp., Taiwan, the state-owned oil supplier, announced on Saturday that domestic gasoline and diesel prices will remain unchanged for the upcoming week, despite elevated international crude oil prices.

According to Focus Taiwan, CPC Chairman Fang Jeng-zen stated that the decision aligns with government directives to maintain consumer price stability and alleviate pressure on local industries, particularly in light of ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East. Fang emphasized that CPC considered subsidy policies in neighboring markets to ensure that Taiwan retains the lowest retail gasoline and diesel prices in the region.

With this decision, retail gasoline prices will stay at NT$32.4 (US$1.02), NT$33.9, and NT$35.9 per liter for 92, 95, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline, respectively, from midnight Monday through April 19. Premium diesel will remain at NT$31.0 per liter. This marks the second consecutive week that CPC has opted to keep domestic fuel prices steady.

Fang noted that CPC is expected to absorb costs of NT$5.6 per liter for gasoline and NT$7.5 per liter for diesel during the period from April 13-19, although this financial burden will be lower than the previous week. Since the onset of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran on February 28, CPC has reportedly absorbed around NT$10.7 billion in costs due to rising international crude oil prices under the government’s price stabilization mechanism.