Nippon Oil, Japan Energy to Keep Jan. Wholesale Prices Flat

Tokyo, Dec. 26 (Jiji Press)–Nippon Oil Corp. and Japan Energy Corp. on Wednesday unveiled plans to keep their respective January wholesale oil product prices unchanged from December.

The move comes after the two firms raised their shipment prices for three months on end through December.

Retail prices of gasoline and kerosene, now at record-high levels, have kept rising almost uninterruptedly in Japan since summer, but may come to a pause for now following the two companies’ latest decisions, industry sources said.

Behind the decisions are the yen’s appreciation that offset a rise in crude oil prices.

Nippon Oil Managing Director Masahito Nakamura told a press conference that crude oil prices are resuming their uptrend.

Meanwhile, he said that retail prices of oil products are seen leveling off in Japan in January. END

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