TOKYO (MNI) – The average price of regular gasoline in Japan this
week marked a 14th straight weekly drop, falling to Y139.4 ($1.76) per
liter, or $6.69 per gallon, from Y139.8 last week and staying at a
16-month low, data released by the Agency for Natural Resources and
Energy showed Wednesday.
The average retail price this week was 6.3% below the Y148.7 per
liter price seen a year earlier, posting an eighth straight week of a
year-on-year decline, following a 6.0% drop in the previous week.
This week the price was the lowest since Y139.0 in the Feb. 28,
2011 week.
In the May 21, 2012 week, the average price of regular gasoline
marked the first year-on-year drop since the week that started on Nov.
24, 2009.
Before the recent decline, the price reached Y158.3 in the week
starting on April 2, the highest in three and a half years since Y161.6
seen in the week of Oct. 14, 2008.
The average price of high-octane gasoline stood at Y150.2 per liter
this week, down from Y150.7 in the previous week. It hit a record high
of Y196.0 on Aug. 4, 2008.
The average price of diesel fuel was at Y121.2 per liter, down from
Y121.7 in the previous week, the 14th straight weekly fall. That
compares with the record high of Y167.4 recorded on Aug. 4, 2008.
The average over-the-counter price of kerosene for heating stood at
Y1,590 per 18 liters this week, down from Y1,598 last week. It posted a
record high of Y2,378 on Aug. 11, 2008.
The average home-delivery kerosene price was at Y1,706 per 18
liters, down from Y1,715 the previous week. It hit a record high of
Y2,484 on Aug. 11, 2008.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]
