Oil business slows down amid price hike

BEIJING, March 28 — Retailers yesterday said the oil business had turned sluggish, as consumers needed time to take in the government’s decision to raise retailing prices of oil products by 3 to 5 per cent over the weekend.

But consumers were not the only ones reacting to Sunday’s oil price hike, as the country’s oil producers and traders are also trying to predict how the move will affect their businesses.

Industry analysts said the weekend price increase and the government’s announcement to impose a windfall profit tax on domestic crude oil sales would benefit the country’s biggest refiner Sinopec the most, and leave top offshore oil producer China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) the most hurt.

Xinhua