Why does the list price of fuel not change at exactly the same time as the cost of crude oil?
Crude oil and the refined products are in fact products of two different markets. The fuels products we provide in Hong Kong are refined light products whose prices are affected by factors such as regional demand, running capacity of the refinery and market speculation. Crude oil prices are subject to different set of factors, including increase in oil demand – especially from China, India and the US – as well as limits in refining capacity and security of supply from the Middle East. In setting our prices, we endeavour to absorb increases in import costs rather than immediately pass these costs along to consumers. Therefore, there are fewer price adjustments as a result.
