State-owned oil majors kept decreasing gasoline wholesale prices to promote sales in South China as the supply was sufficient and demand stayed weak, C1's observation showed.
PetroChina's sales branches offered gasoline with up to Yuan 250/mt of discount this week, versus Yuan 150/mt early May and Yuan 80/mt end April. Sinopec sold the fuel with Yuan 150-200/mt of discounts in South China's Guangdong Province and CNOOC trimmed price from Yuan 7.3/liter to Yuan 7.1/liter.
Steep fluctuations of international crude prices reduced the possibility of rises in domestic oil product retail ceiling prices, market sources pointed out. In addition, high quotations damped buying interest of private petrol stations; therefore, middlemen who have stockpiled sufficient stocks earlier were unwilling to replenish stocks, according to the sources.
Wholesale prices of 93-Ron gasoline settled at Yuan 9,630-9,680/mt in South China's Pearl River Delta on May 12, sharply down Yuan 120/mt from mid-April, C1's assessment showed.
Sales improved not much in a falling market, and sentiment may remain bearish in the short term, some market sources said.
However, a few traders expected gasoline wholesale prices would gradually stabilize in Guangdong because offers from CNOOC have dropped to the level ahead of Apr 7, when the latest price hikes were implemented by the government.
