Formosa Petrochemical Freezes Fuel Prices for Record Ninth Consecutive Week

Formosa Plastics Corporation (FPC) officially announced its latest fuel price adjustment information on its official website today, stating that the prices of all gasoline and diesel products sold by the company will remain unchanged starting from early Saturday of this week, with no increases or decreases implemented. This decision means that domestic fuel prices, following this week's assessment, will remain at their current level. For the vast number of domestic vehicle owners and the transportation and logistics industries that rely on chemical fuels for daily operations, this provides a stable interval in operating costs, preventing additional financial pressure from sudden changes.

Notably, this marks the ninth consecutive week that FPC has decided not to adjust fuel prices, following the announcement on September 13 of this year to raise gasoline prices, which took effect the next day, on September 14. Looking back at this stable period lasting more than two months, domestic fuel prices entered a rare long-term freeze and plateau after a minor fluctuation in mid-September. During this nine-week span, although the international crude oil market experienced geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East, production policy adjustments by major oil-producing organizations, and a tug-of-war over global demand prospects from major economies, domestic fuel prices have remained relatively stable under the operation of the flexible pricing mechanism, without fluctuating in tandem with the dramatic swings of any single international trading day.

From the perspective of the domestic fuel pricing mechanism and background context, as one of the two major petrochemical and fuel supply giants in the country, FPC’s weekly published retail fuel prices have always been carefully calculated based on the floating fuel price mechanism. These calculations closely reference the trends of benchmark international crude oil prices, while also considering comprehensive factors such as exchange rate fluctuations between the New Taiwan Dollar and the US Dollar. Although domestic fuel price adjustments typically have a formulaic correspondence, in practice, industry operators and regulatory authorities often incorporate macro-level considerations, including overall domestic inflationary pressure, the affordability of the livelihood economy, and the pace of industrial recovery. Over the past nine weeks, while international oil prices have fluctuated within specific ranges, the average price has not shown sustained extreme trends sufficient to trigger a significant increase or decrease in domestic fuel prices. This is the key reason for the nine-week price freeze.

The long-term stability of fuel prices has had profound impacts on various aspects of the domestic economy. The transportation and logistics sector, taxi operators, and public transit-related industries are the first to be affected. Given that fuel costs account for a significant proportion of their overall operating costs, the nine-week freeze in fuel prices is equivalent to providing these businesses with a relatively predictable and stable cost environment. When formulating short-term financial budgets and operational plans, companies do not have to revise quotes or absorb additional costs due to sudden spikes in fuel prices. This has provided substantial positive benefits in stabilizing overall domestic commodity logistics prices and suppressing potential inflationary pressure in the transportation sector. Additionally, for the vast number of commuters and families relying on cars and motorcycles, unchanged fuel prices mean that weekly fuel expenditures remain at a fixed level. This helps the public maintain better control over overall household income and expenditure when facing potential minor increases in other daily necessities.

Looking ahead to future fuel market trends, international crude oil prices remain fraught with uncertainty and variables. The strength of global economic growth momentum, changes in crude oil inventory levels in major countries such as the United States, the pace of new energy transition policies, and whether geopolitical conflicts will further expand or subside are all key indicators that can potentially move international oil prices at any time. Whether domestic fuel prices will break the current nine-week stable trend in the future depends on the actual performance of international benchmark oil prices under market supply and demand laws. FPC and relevant units are expected to continue closely monitoring international market pulses and, in accordance with the established fuel price adjustment mechanism, seek the most appropriate balance between reflecting costs and supporting the livelihood economy to ensure stable supply and reasonable pricing in the domestic energy market.

(Source: Central News Agency)