Some domestic private petrol stations are selling gasoil above the retail ceiling, as wholesale prices are already largely flat to the retail ceiling amid tight supply, C1 found.
The retail prices of zero-pour-point gasoil averaged Yuan 8,485/mt nationwide on Sep 22, just Yuan 40/mt below the average wholesale price, C1 assessment showed. The price spread could not even cover the freight and some petrol stations were suffering losses.
"The costs are so high that we have to sell gasoil above the retail ceiling," said a source with a petrol station in Harbin city in Heilongjiang. Like some other stations in northeast China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, this station is now selling gasoil about Yuan 0.1/L above the ceiling.
Some private petrol stations in Beijing, central China's Wuhan and southwest China's Guizhou are also selling gasoil above the ceiling. Private petrol stations in northeast China's Liaoning and southwest China's Sichuan and Chongqing may follow suit, according to sources with them.
In addition to high costs, it is even difficult to get wholesale supply from state-owned oil majors, according to petrol station sources. Oil majors have rationed or suspended wholesale supply in some areas, while demand is growing.
Gasoil supply is not likely to become abundant until the first half of November, as some refineries under PetroChina and Sinopec are not scheduled to complete maintenance until the second half of October.
