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Written by: Ni Qingjiang
2020-05-24 07:30
Last update date: 2020-05-24 07:30International crude oil prices have fallen sharply recently, but the Consumer Council has found that as of the first quarter of this year, the price of Brent crude oil and imports have dropped by about 4 yuan per liter in the past seven years. The study ruled out that oil companies have accelerated and slowed down, and there is no evidence to establish that oil companies colluded with pricing, but found that there is a "addition and reduction" operation, that is, a higher increase and a lower decrease, the difference between the price per liter and the import price. In seven years it doubled to 8.24 yuan. During the interview, the director general of the association, Huang Fengxian, asked, "Is the cost of the system doubled?"
There are currently 570,000 private cars in Hong Kong, an increase of nearly 10% in the past five years. Huang Fengxian said that oil prices are also related to people's livelihood. He did not agree that high oil prices should be used to suppress vehicle growth. He also pointed out that the government can also start by limiting the number of license plates or increasing taxes. She pointed out that it is necessary to monitor oil companies. "It is the same in the whole world, and data supply is absolutely critical." The government must increase the transparency of oil companies and introduce measures that can promote competition in order to suppress high oil prices.
New York oil futures fell to a historic low of minus 40 dollars per barrel at the end of April. The Consumer Council has seen the recent sharp changes in the international fuel market, analyzing data for a total of 7 years from 2013 to the first quarter of 2020, examining the international Brent crude oil prices, the monthly gasoline import prices imported into Hong Kong after refining, and the gasoline price, etc. The changes, connections and gaps between the three sets of data reveal the local oil price situation.
The main points of the Consumer Council's vehicle fuel price monitoring and analysis :
Local unleaded vehicle gasoline sales have stabilized, with quarterly sales ranging from 132.6 to 163.4 million liters. Oil companies are committed to purchasing fuel oil when oil prices are low. The price adjustment behaviors of the five oil companies are similar, and there seems to be no signs of "accelerating and slowing down" in recent years. 2013 to the first quarter of 2020: The price difference between the gasoline price and Brent crude oil price increased from $ 5.12 / liter to $ 9.48 / liter (+ 85.2%); the price difference between the gasoline price and import price increased from $ 4.06 / liter to $ 8.44 / Liter (+ 107.9%). Although the price of Brent crude oil fell back to the level close to January and March 2016 in March 2020, so did the import price. The average pre-tax gasoline price in March 2020 was higher than that in January and March 2016 $ 3. When the daily cumulative changes in Brent crude oil prices and import prices fell by $ 4.3 / liter and $ 3.68 / liter, respectively, the cumulative daily changes in gasoline prices increased by $ 0.1 / liter. Except for 2014, all other years showed signs of "additional reduction". The days when the five oil companies have the same price have intensified again since 2017, and recorded the highest 92.3% in the first quarter of 2020: two of them adjusted their prices for most of the time. From 2016 to the first quarter of 2020, five oil companies increased the average amount of retail discounts. However, based on the actual amount, consumers still have to spend more per liter when buying ordinary unleaded gasoline.
Huang Fengxian, director general of the Consumer Council, expects the government and oil companies to disclose relevant data to let the public understand the reasons for the high oil prices. (Photo by Ni Qingjiang)
"A few mosquitoes are reduced in neighboring countries (per liter of oil price)!"
"The general public feels that they don't feel the subtraction of the international oil price. I feel that I haven't seen any reduction in the fighting. The Hong Kong market is famous for being the most expensive in the world. (Oil company) is only a few cents apart. The number of mosquitoes in neighboring countries (per liter) is reduced! "Said Huang Fengxian. Seven years of data show that oil companies have not slowed down." Even if oil companies are depressed, they have little meaning to consumers ... except for one or two. Apart from the difference in years, the number of additions and decreases in Qu (oil company) are almost the same. "
When oil companies adjust prices, they will find that they can reply to the original price in as short as one week. "It's sullen, responsive, and some have fallen back to the original price. price)."
Costs push up the price of gasoline? Huang Fengxian: I have a question
According to the data from 2013 to the first quarter of 2020, the Consumer Council found that the cumulative change in the price of Brent crude oil and the import price per liter fell by 4.3 yuan and 3.68 yuan, respectively. However, the cumulative change in the local gasoline price during the same period increased by 0.1 yuan. It shows that the cumulative increase in the price per liter of gasoline over the past 7 years is more than 3 yuan away from the cumulative price of Brent crude oil and import prices. Huang Fengxian said: "When the import price is only increased by 3 cents, the price of the Qu (oil company) will be increased by 8 and a half, and the extra price is 5 cents. If the total price is reduced, it will increase by 3.68 yuan, and the increase will reduce the signs. It ’s so obvious. ”
Comparing the average pre-tax oil price per liter of oil and the monthly import price, the gap between the two increased from 4.36 yuan in the first half of 2013 to double to 8.24 yuan in the first quarter of this year. "The gap is getting bigger and bigger. After all, your price difference is doubled, and your cost is doubled?" She refers to the cost after fuel imports, including government rent rates, employee salaries, promotion costs, and administrative costs. , "Assuming that the oil company does not make much money, but the cost must be doubled? I have doubts!"
"We have a limit, there is no way to force the number to be counted in order to tell us. So I don't know whether the profit is too high or the cost is too high. It's a lot of questions when the land price is expensive. It is a question. "She pointed out that in recent years, the majority of the petrol stations have been newly entered into the market." Is n’t the inter-oil companies ’operating costs all the same, because the land price increase is general? It does not necessarily mean that it is necessary to check the time of each. What is the price? The price is not public because it is a batch of bids. "
International crude oil prices have fallen sharply recently, but the retail price of auto fuel in Hong Kong remains high. (Profile picture)
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Huang Fengxian said that there is no evidence that the five oil companies are colluding to set prices, but the price consistency of oil companies is getting higher and higher. "Why don't do it." Various oil companies offer a lot of discounts. "I thought after doing a round of work today, I thought that this combination is the undead door and the most peaceful. But I found out that it doesn't matter. It ’s the day to move the Dragon Gate. "She said that the decimals are afraid of long-term calculations. If a car owner who drives often does not pay special attention, the annual gas cost will be several thousand yuan more.
She pointed out that the automotive fuel market is unsatisfactory. "To monitor this market, it is the same everywhere in the world. The provision of data is absolutely critical. Government policies need to be improved to increase transparency. The introduction of measures can promote competition." The import prices of fuel oil of the oil companies are only based on the average of each company. They believe that they should be provided separately one by one to increase transparency. "Embedding is only one grain. After the channel has been delayed, the density is almost resistant to the first oil." Hong Kong? If there is more data, the lagging effect on the oil price will be calculated. "The association also recommended that it be empowered to give the competition committee the right to request the company to provide data when conducting research; to set up an energy bureau in the long run to formulate and regulate tube.
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High oil prices are not just a problem for private car owners
The number of cars in Hong Kong is more likely to cause congestion. The number of licensed private cars was 570,000 at the beginning of this year, an increase of about 10% from the 520,000 in 2015. Huang Fengxian did not agree that letting the price of gasoline go up could suppress the growth of private parents. "High oil prices and high land prices are suppressing private car growth? Absolutely not!"
She pointed out that to limit the growth of private parents, you can refer to Singapore ’s Certificate of Entitlement (COE), which is to set quotas for vehicles or increase automobile-related taxes instead of adopting a high oil price policy. The only remaining problem is ordinary private cars. There are buses and public transportation. Everyone uses tight fuel and LPG. If the price of oil is high, the public is expensive if you take a car? "She said that the main reason for controlling the growth of vehicles is Environmental protection and good use of public transportation resources, high oil price policies are not the most effective.
The Consumer Council pointed out that in the past four years, under the condition of unchanged automobile fuel tax, the oil price paid by local car owners in Hong Kong still increased by 3 yuan per liter. (Profile picture)
Huang Fengxian