Fuel prices may drop further after oil firms' merger

To deal with cutthroat competition, Japan’s Nippon Oil Corp. and Nippon Mining Holdings Inc. said they will merge and have signaled their intent to close unprofitable retail stations. Nippon Oil runs 9,919 Eneos brand stations nationwide and Nippon Mining unit Japan Energy Corp. operates 3,555 Jomo branded sites. Because of stiff competition and other factors, 60% to 70% of them are considered to be money-losing operations. (December 15, 2008)