China cuts retail oil prices

The prices of gasoline and diesel in China will respectively be cut by 110 yuan and 105 yuan (18 U.S. dollars) per tonne, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, said in a statement Monday.

The adjustment will come into effect Tuesday. The benchmark retail price of gasoline will drop by 0.08 yuan per liter and that of diesel by 0.09 yuan.

Prices of refined oil products in China are adjusted when international crude prices translate into a change of more than 50 yuan per tonne for 10 working days.

Crude prices fell last week, weighed on concerns of oversupply after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to keep its daily output at 30 million barrels for the next six months.

The NDRC has reduced oil prices for four times and raised them five times this year, tracking changes in international crude oil prices.