Commercial gas prices climb
By Wang Yanlin |
June 30, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHANGHAI will raise the price of gas products for commercial and industrial users tomorrow to reflect the global costs of gas and encourage energy conservation.
It will be the first price rise for gas products in the city since 2008, the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission said. It said other cities and regions across the country are also adjusting prices after China raised the factory gate gas costs on June 1.
The price of gas varies among different types of users in Shanghai. The latest move will mean commercial users will see a cost increase of 0.39 yuan (5 US cents) for each cubic meter of natural gas. Manufactured gas will rise 0.25 yuan for each cubic meter.
For example, restaurant operators will have to pay 2.99 yuan for each cubic meter of natural gas used from tomorrow, up from 2.60 yuan now, if their monthly consumption is below 5 million cubic meters.
"The price increase won't create a huge impact on the city's industries," said Li Wei, director of the pricing management department at the commission. "The most affected are big spenders of energy like chemical plants, but their number is limited in Shanghai compared with other cities and regions."
There will be no change in gas price for home users this time and there are no plans to change in the recent future, Li said.
But he did not rule out the possibility of a price increase for home users, saying there would be a public hearing before a price change and the procedure would take a longer time.
"It is a trend for China to adjust the prices following fluctuations on the global market," said Li Maoyu, an analyst at Changjiang Securities Co. "It can be translated as a signal for growing inflationary pressure."
Shanghai's Producer Price Index, the factory-gate gauge of inflation, rose 3.8 percent from a year earlier in May, up 0.5 percentage point from April's gain.
Shanghai used 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas products last year, and imported natural gas was the biggest source of supply.
"If the global gas price drops in the future, we will also prune the price according to our mechanism which links domestic and global prices," Li said.
It will be the first price rise for gas products in the city since 2008, the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission said. It said other cities and regions across the country are also adjusting prices after China raised the factory gate gas costs on June 1.
The price of gas varies among different types of users in Shanghai. The latest move will mean commercial users will see a cost increase of 0.39 yuan (5 US cents) for each cubic meter of natural gas. Manufactured gas will rise 0.25 yuan for each cubic meter.
For example, restaurant operators will have to pay 2.99 yuan for each cubic meter of natural gas used from tomorrow, up from 2.60 yuan now, if their monthly consumption is below 5 million cubic meters.
"The price increase won't create a huge impact on the city's industries," said Li Wei, director of the pricing management department at the commission. "The most affected are big spenders of energy like chemical plants, but their number is limited in Shanghai compared with other cities and regions."
There will be no change in gas price for home users this time and there are no plans to change in the recent future, Li said.
But he did not rule out the possibility of a price increase for home users, saying there would be a public hearing before a price change and the procedure would take a longer time.
"It is a trend for China to adjust the prices following fluctuations on the global market," said Li Maoyu, an analyst at Changjiang Securities Co. "It can be translated as a signal for growing inflationary pressure."
Shanghai's Producer Price Index, the factory-gate gauge of inflation, rose 3.8 percent from a year earlier in May, up 0.5 percentage point from April's gain.
Shanghai used 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas products last year, and imported natural gas was the biggest source of supply.
"If the global gas price drops in the future, we will also prune the price according to our mechanism which links domestic and global prices," Li said.
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