The price of a 15-kg cylinder of gas remained at 93.5 yuan
(US$11.4) on average in the past few weeks in Guangdong, sources
with the provincial commodity price monitoring center said,
rejecting rumors about possible price increases due to a shortage
in gas supply.
The center attributed the likelihood of gas prices remaining
stable to the lack of fluctuation in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
prices internationally, as well as the increase of Chinese imports
of LPG and the implementation of price control measures.
Since October last year, the gas prices in Guangdong have risen
abruptly on the back of price fluctuations in the international
market. In the space a week, a 15-kg cylinder of gas was sold first
at 70.2 yuan October 4 and then at 85.3 yuan per cylinder October
11, an increase of 21.5 percent. On October 20, gas was being sold
at 94.4 yuan per cylinder, forcing the provincial price regulator
to enforce measures to control the gas price within a ceiling of 95
yuan.
The wholesale prices of imported LPG in Guangdong generally
stand between 6,050 to 6,200 yuan per ton, around 450 to 600 yuan
cheaper than the provinces in East China. But the wholesale prices
of the LPG produced by domestic enterprises were the highest among
the provinces, around 5,870 to 6,050 yuan per ton.
(Shenzhen Daily January 5, 2006)
