(Photo : gasoline station)

For the third time in two months, retail prices of gasoline and diesel in China will be raised starting Saturday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on Friday.

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The NDRC said gasoline retail price will be increased by CNY90 per ton or $14.70. Diesel retail price will also be raised by CNY85 per ton or $13.88. That means the benchmark retail price per liter of gasoline and diesel will increase by CNY0.07 or 1.1 US cent.

The NDRC has not disclosed the reason for the increase as of this posting. The government sets benchmark retail prices for gasoline and diesel.

Under the existing oil pricing mechanism, prices of gasoline and diesel are adjusted automatically every 10 working days when there is fluctuation in the price of international crude.  However, if the price change is lower than CNY50 per metric ton, or $1 per barrel, the adjustment will be rolled over to the next price change.

Sixth Price Increase This Year

The latest fuel price hike, which will take effect on September 14, is the third increase in two months and the sixth price increase this year.

On August 31, the NDRC raised gasoline and diesel prices by CNY0.17 and CNY0.19 per liter respectively, citing global fuel price movement.

It also adjusted gasoline and diesel prices on July 20 by CNY0.24 and CNY0.26 per liter respectively, the biggest increase implemented since September 2012.

Rosneft In Talks To Enter China Fuel Market

Meanwhile, Russian state oil company Rosneft is in discussion to supply China with more than $60 billion worth of crude oil, said Russian President Vladimir Putin. While Putin provided no further details about the deal, experts said the agreement involves volumes of hundreds of millions of tons of oil, experts said.

On Friday, Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin said his company will join in the next round of talks with the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation for the construction of an oil refinery in Tianjin.

The oil refinery project will be implemented by Vostok Neftekhimiya, a joint venture between Rosneft and CNPC. Rosneft holds 49 per cent of the joint venture while CNPC owns 51 per cent.