C1 Energy (Shanghai) – Mar 9, 2010 －－－State-owned oil giants Sinopec and PetroChina boosted wholesale prices of gasoline and gasoil in most regions as international crude prices extended gains and hit 2-month high, C1's survey showed.
Gasoil wholesale prices closed at Yuan 6,451/mt Tuesday, up Yuan 30/mt from the previous day; meantime, those of gasoline settled Yuan 24/mt higher to Yuan 6,992/mt, C1's data indicated.
Bullish crudes sparked speculative demand in domestic oil product market, lending support to prices, market sources denoted.
A source with Sinopec Guangdong said sales branches of the company recorded smooth sales early March.
Some industry sources reckoned Sinopec lifted oil product prices in wholesale market in a bid to squeeze sales margins of independent petrol stations, as the refiner set higher retail sales targets for this year.
Gasoline demand from end-users increased notably after the Spring Festival holiday (Feb 13-19), especially in South and East China; demand for gasoil picked up at the same time.
Gasoline prices were firmer than gasoil because gasoline supply was relatively tight in South and East China after national III standard gasoline was popularized in the two regions early end February and early March.
As of Mar 8, the 22-working-day rolling average price of Brent, Dubai and Cinta inch up 0.18% from the average in the 22-working-day ended Nov 6, 2009, which is reference price for latest adjustments in domestic oil product prices.
