Taiwan has no immediate plan to review oil price mechanism

Taiwan’s Economics Minister Shih Yen-shiang said that his ministry has no immediate plan for a review of the floating oil pricing mechanism because international crude oil prices are not high enough to warrant one. In a questioning session at the Legislative Yuan, Shih said that despite recent hikes, international crude oil prices remain tolerable. With the pricing mechanism pegged to international crude prices, state-run oil company CPC Corp. raised domestic gasoline and diesel prices on May 3, after three price hikes in April as international crude rose above US$83 per barrel. If international crude prices breach US$100 per barrel, the ministry will reconsider the floating pricing mechanism, a CPC spokeswoman said. (May 4, 2010)