Shanghai yesterday substantially raised the price of bottled
liquefied petroleum gas for private use in the fallout from the
global surge in crude-oil prices.
The guidance retail price was raised to 84 yuan (US$11.31) per
14.5-kilogram bottle, according to a city government statement. The
previous guidance was 77 yuan a bottle, set about two years ago,
according to the Shanghai Price Bureau.
The government said the price increase of bottled LPG is direct
in response to the crude prices and follows the National
Development and Reform Commission's move to raise petrol and diesel
prices early this month.
And there is no international respite in sight.
Oil prices rose again yesterday as some OPEC members talked
about converting their cash reserves to the Euro and away from the
"worthless" United States dollar, The Associated Press reported
.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 81 US cents to
US$94.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile
Exchange by midday in Europe yesterday. The contract rose US$1.77
to settle at US$93.84 a barrel on Friday.
In London, January Brent crude futures added 53 US cents to be
US$92.15 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
All of these factors have a global Richter effect - and Shanghai
is no exception to the rule.
"The price hike (in Shanghai) can help better arrange gas
sources and safeguard market supply," the government statement
said.
Gas retailers are allowed to raise or reduce prices by 10
percent to end users based on the guidance figure.
There are about 700,000 household users of bottled LPG in
Shanghai. Bottled LPG is consumed by households not connected by
gas pipe. Demand typically surges in winter.
Meanwhile, the government said it has increased subsidies to the
city's low-income families starting in October to address the big
rises in general living costs.
The government has also asked distributors to strictly implement
the price guidance, "actively" source supplies, and not to hoard
products to manipulate the market.
(Shanghai Daily November 20, 2007)
