Japan’s Retail Gasoline Price May Top 130 Yen in Aug.

Tokyo, July 13 (Jiji Press)–The average retail price of regular gasoline in Japan in August may exceed 130 yen per liter for the first time in more than 13 years, as crude oil prices stay stuck near their record highs.

The average retail gasoline price last reached 130 yen in January 1992.

The average retail gasoline price as of Monday was up 0.6 yen from a week earlier at 125.1 yen, the Oil Information Center said Wednesday.

The increase this week comes after Japanese oil distributors raised wholesale prices for shipments in July by 3.1-3.6 yen from the previous month.

Because the retail gasoline price is up only 2.0 yen since the end of June, it is likely to rise further this month, the Oil Information Center said.

Fumiaki Watari, chairman of the Petroleum Association of Japan, told a press conference Wednesday that wholesale prices could rise by 3.5-4.0 yen in August in the light of current crude oil prices and the yen’s weakness versus the dollar.END