July 5, 2012
Translated by Zhu Na

China two biggest oil companies, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Sinopec, have recently hiked the price at which they sell on petroleum to other domestic refiners in some regions of the country.

Economic Information Daily, a Chinese news provider, reported that in Guangdong the two companies are now selling on crude at 7,300 yuan a ton, or around 996 yuan a barrel. That’s up from a previous price per ton of 7,200 yaun.

Analysts ascribed the increase down to the rise in global crude prices as U.S. sanctions restrict the exports from Iran, the middle eastern state with nuclear ambition and around 5 percent of the world’s oil production.

"The impact of higher crude prices on domestic demand isn’t huge, but in some regions, oil prices have been pushed up, particularly in Guangdong," said Dong Lizhu (董丽珠), an analyst at e-commerce platform JYD Online Co., Ltd.

Northern China had also seen crude become more expensive, but Dong said that these price movements are blips in a longer-term downward price trend across the country and that sellers who hike their prices now may struggle to find buyers.

Links and Sources
Economic Information Daily:  国际油价大幅反弹 “三桶油”借机推价