China likely to raise refined oil price: analysts

BEIJING - China may raise the price of refined oil on Thursday, which would mark the seventh such increase within a year, industry analysts predicted.

The upward adjustment of the refined oil price is predicted to be 100 yuan ($16) per ton, analysts said.

"We expect the upward adjustment of the refined oil price to be 100 yuan per ton, which will raise the retail price of 93-octane gasoline by 0.1 yuan per liter, due to the high level of the moving average of a basket of crude oil prices," said Li Hong, an analyst.

The moving average of a basket of crude oil prices, to which China's refined oil prices are pegged, reached 2.4 percent as of November 26, higher than the 2 percent benchmark, according to Xinhua's latest oil industry report.

Zhang Bin, an analyst at Zhuo Chuang Information, added that though international oil prices had slipped in recent days, the tight supply of diesel and the willingness to support the gasoline price by retail outlets led to the oil price rise in the domestic market.

Forecasts showed that the retail price of diesel and gasoline will also rise following the adjustment of refined oil prices.

The National Development and Reform Commission introduced a new oil price mechanism in March to promote market-oriented pricing for energy resources and help the country better use overseas resources to ensure domestic oil supply.

Under the mechanism, benchmark prices of gasoline and diesel will be adjusted every 10 working days except when the change is less than 50 yuan per ton.