How are the prices of domestic refined oil products adjusted in our country?
On April 7th, the National Development and Reform Commission released a statement: As of 24:00 on April 7th, the domestic prices of gasoline and diesel (standard grades) should be raised by 800 yuan and 770 yuan per ton respectively. After the adjustment, the actual increase is 420 yuan and 400 yuan respectively. This is another measure taken by the state to regulate domestic oil prices following the implementation of such measures on March 23rd.
Oil prices fluctuate, which affects people's lives. How are the domestic refined oil prices determined in our country? Under what circumstances will regulatory measures be taken? If international crude oil prices rise significantly in the future, what other regulatory measures will be implemented? Regarding these questions, the reporter interviewed relevant departments and experts.
The domestic refined oil prices are linked to the international crude oil prices.
Reader's concern: How are the domestic refined oil prices in our country determined?
It is stated that the current domestic oil price mechanism is mainly based on the "Petroleum Price Management Measures" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"). China is a major oil importer, with the proportion of imported crude oil exceeding 70%. The Measures clearly stipulate that the prices of gasoline and diesel will be adjusted every 10 working days in response to changes in international crude oil prices.
Lü Zhichen, the deputy director of the Price, Cost and Certification Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced that this mechanism has three key points -
"Package". The domestic prices of gasoline and diesel are based on the average price of a package of international crude oil. The price adjustment is influenced by multiple rather than a single international crude oil price.
"Average price". The adjustment range is not simply determined by the changes in international crude oil prices at a certain point in time or over a few days. Instead, it depends on the comparison between the average price of international crude oil for the previous 10 working days before the adjustment and the average price for the same period before the last adjustment.
"Interval-based regulation". Under certain circumstances, the state will implement price control measures.
In recent years, the domestic refined oil prices in China have been adjusted according to the mechanism, with both increases and decreases. In 2023, the refined oil prices saw "10 rises, 12 decreases, and 3 no adjustments". In 2024, "9 rises, 9 decreases, and 7 no adjustments". In 2025, "7 rises, 12 decreases, and 6 no adjustments". Over the three years, the total was "26 rises, 33 decreases, and 16 no adjustments".
Recently, the international crude oil prices have experienced significant fluctuations. Particularly, the prices of crude oil in the Middle East have repeatedly reached record highs. These factors have directly increased the costs of our country's crude oil imports and usage, and have also led to a general upward trend in domestic refined oil prices in recent times.
Temporary regulation measures are conducive to mitigating the impact of abnormal increases in international oil prices.
Reader's concern: Under what circumstances will the government take measures to regulate oil prices?
Tian Lei, deputy director of the Economic Center of the Energy Institute of the China Macro-economy Research Institute, said that according to the current mechanism, if the average international crude oil price over the past 10 working days is higher than $130 per barrel or lower than $40 per barrel, the state will take price control measures.
Currently, the overall international crude oil price has not yet surpassed the "ceiling price" of $130 per barrel. Why have there been two temporary adjustments recently?
The main basis for this is Article 7 of the "Measures": "When there is a significant increase in the overall domestic price level, or major emergencies occur, as well as abnormal fluctuations in international oil prices under special circumstances where it is necessary to regulate the prices of refined oil products", "the adjustment of prices can be suspended, delayed, or the adjustment range can be narrowed."
"On the basis of maintaining the current price mechanism framework, a temporary regulation was implemented for domestic refined oil prices, which took into account the interests of both consumers and producers. This is conducive to mitigating the impact of abnormal increases in international oil prices, reducing the burden on downstream users, and ensuring the stable operation of the economy and social livelihood." said Tian Lei.
"The gasoline and diesel prices released by the National Development and Reform Commission are for the 'standard products' measured by tonnage, namely 92-octane gasoline and 0-grade diesel," said Lu Zhichen. Taking the regulation on March 23 as an example, the domestic gasoline and diesel prices (standard products) should have been increased by 2,205 yuan and 2,120 yuan per ton respectively. After the regulation, the actual increase was 1,160 yuan and 1,115 yuan per ton, converted to per liter prices, 92-octane gasoline and 0-grade diesel would have been increased by about 0.87 yuan and 0.95 yuan per liter respectively. Compared with no regulation, the increase per liter was about 0.85 yuan less. In this regulation on April 7, the increase per liter of 92-octane gasoline was 0.31 yuan less and that of 0-grade diesel was 0.32 yuan less.
If the price control limit is triggered, the price of refined oil will not increase or will increase by a smaller amount.
Reader's concern: If the international crude oil prices rise significantly in the future, what other regulatory measures will the country take?
"If the average price of a basket of international crude oil continues to rise significantly, exceeding $130 per barrel (with the corresponding average retail price of domestic 92-octane gasoline being slightly higher than 10 yuan per liter), it will trigger the price control ceiling." Tian Lei said. For the portion exceeding the ceiling, the maximum retail prices of gasoline and diesel in China will not be raised or will be raised to a lesser extent. At the same time, to ensure stable supply, the government may adopt some fiscal and tax support policies.
Based on past experiences, the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict led to a significant increase in international oil prices. At that time, the country clearly stated that once the international oil price exceeded the regulatory ceiling of $130 per barrel, domestic refined oil prices would not be raised for a short period (no more than two months), and phased subsidies would be provided to oil refining enterprises.
The National Development and Reform Commission stated that it will guide oil production and sales enterprises such as PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC to fully ensure the production and transportation of refined oil products, guarantee stable market supply, and strictly implement the national price policies. Relevant departments in all regions should strengthen market supervision and inspection, severely punish acts that do not comply with the national price policies, and maintain normal market order. If any price violations occur, consumers can report them through the 12315 platform.
