Central China Refined Oil Price Was Stable-to-Rising
Last week, Saudi Arabia announced to further cut its daily crude oil output by 1 million bbl, and the crude oil inventory in the U.S. dropped. Therefore, despite the severe global public health event, the international crude oil prices increased, and WTI crude oil price exceeded $50/bbl, giving support to the refined oil market in China.
In China, many state-owned refineries pursued well-performed sales at the beginning of the year, and they issued many sales promotions during the New Year’s Day holiday. Many downstream users replenished their inventory, easing the inventory pressure at refineries. However, recently, the public health event in China showed signs of revival, and with the growth of international crude oil prices, state-owned refineries in Central China started to push up their prices of gasoline and diesel.
In terms of end demand, the gasoline demand was supported by intensive replenishment after the New Year’s Day holiday. However, impacted by the cold wave, the operating rates at mines, infrastructural constructions, projects were suppressed, so the demand for diesel underperformed to some extent. On the whole, the overall prices of gasoline and diesel at state-owned refineries in Central China were stable-to-rising. Therein, up to January 8, the average price of gasoline was RMB 6,274/mt, up RMB 166/mt W-O-W, while the average price of diesel was RMB 5,723/mt, up RMB 112/mt W-O-W.
