Introduction

Recently, the price of oil is set to rise again, causing car owners to worry! The next round of oil price adjustments is scheduled for October 23rd, with an expected increase of 0.10 to 0.12 yuan per liter of gasoline. What's behind this price hike? It's closely related to the international crude oil prices! If you want to know the truth behind the oil prices and how car owners should respond, read on!

Upcoming Increase

As oil prices continue to rise, many car owners are complaining about the increasing cost of fuel, making it a necessity for many to plan their fuel consumption wisely.

Just a short while ago, news of a new oil price adjustment emerged. As it stands, the next round of oil price adjustments is set for 24:00 on October 23, 2023. However, this round will not see a decrease but an increase.

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Specifically, this round of oil price adjustments is expected to increase by 130 yuan/ton. According to the conversion method, this will result in an increase of 0.10 to 0.12 yuan per liter of gasoline.

In light of the upcoming increase, car owners should also prepare in advance to refuel, to avoid having to buy more expensive fuel when the prices go up.

Multiple Increases

Previously, on the evening of October 10th, news of an oil price increase came from the Eastern powerhouse, marking the second oil price adjustment in less than a month following the one on September 20th.

The increase on the evening of October 10th was even more significant, reaching 140 yuan/ton. This increase also set a new record for the largest single increase this year.The upward trend in oil prices is not a new phenomenon this year; the Eastern powerhouse has already made several adjustments to fuel prices, including increases and even significant surges.

As of now, there have been 20 adjustments to fuel prices this year, with 8 increases, 8 decreases, and 4 instances where prices remained unchanged. Under such fluctuating conditions, car owners can only keep an eye on the trends in fuel prices and prepare in advance.

U.S. Crude Oil Prices

The trajectory of fuel prices in the Eastern powerhouse is closely linked to international crude oil prices. So, what is the current state of international crude oil prices?

At present, the U.S. crude oil price in the Eastern powerhouse is $69.22 per barrel. Compared to the significant increase at the end of last year, the U.S. crude oil price has dropped considerably.

The Brent crude oil price follows a similar pattern; it currently stands at $73.06 per barrel. After a substantial increase, the price has also seen a decline.

Both U.S. and Brent crude oils have experienced consecutive days of decline, with U.S. crude oil even breaking through the significant threshold of $70 per barrel.

In the following day, U.S. crude oil even fell below $68 per barrel. Under these circumstances, will the Eastern powerhouse continue with the next round of fuel price adjustments?

Continued Decline in the Short Term

Analysts suggest that the consecutive days of decline in U.S. and Brent crude oil prices, which had previously been running at high levels, may be due to the impact of the current pandemic round.In the current wave of the pandemic, multiple countries around the world have implemented multiple lockdown measures, disrupting the global economic order. Under these lockdowns, the demand in many countries has also decreased significantly, which has directly led to a substantial reduction in oil demand. In such circumstances, the oil prices, which were previously high, have also fallen and have continued to decline for several consecutive days. Up to now, international crude oil prices have even seen a drop of around 7%, with two types of crude oil experiencing a drop of about 8%. Although oil prices have remained high since the beginning of the year, they once soared to the highest point of the year at the start of this year. However, influenced by various factors such as the tense situation in Ukraine, oil prices have continued to maintain a high level and are still on the rise. Although oil prices fell after soaring at the beginning of the year and are now close to the prices at the start of the year, oil prices in October of this year are still rising. In summary, although the Eastern power and countries such as the United States and Europe have adopted various measures to deal with this round of the pandemic and are gradually lifting restrictions to restore normal economic order, the recovery of oil demand has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels due to the uneven pace of global economic recovery. Moreover, there are still multiple countries in a state of lockdown worldwide.Based on this perspective, the demand for oil may continue to remain relatively low, and international oil prices are likely to maintain their volatile state, continuing to be influenced by the pandemic.

In conclusion, the fluctuations in oil prices are truly exhausting, especially as the financial pressure on car owners from fuel costs increases. Faced with this situation, all we can do is to prepare in advance and respond flexibly.