China's petrol expensive in China than the United States is also a loss of oil prices?

China's petrol expensive in China than the United States is also a loss of oil prices?

May 31, 2009, National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice, since June 1, 2009 will Steam, diesel prices will increase 400 yuan per ton. At this point, the Beijing No. 93 gasoline rose by 5.56 yuan per liter to 5.89 yuan. And June 1, 2009, the United States the week of regular gasoline on average retail prices of 2.524 U.S. dollars per gallon, in accordance with the June 1 price 6.83 RMB exchange rate basis, equivalent to RMB 4.56 yuan per liter. In other words, June 1, before the price adjustment, gasoline prices in Beijing have been regular gasoline than in the United States increased an average of 1 yuan each, adjusted 1.33 yuan higher.

Times published the Chinese economy China's Xiamen University, Center for Economic Research Energy伯强article said Lin, of course, is not China's gasoline prices have been lower than in the United States. When oil prices in 2008 to more than 100 U.S. dollars a barrel, the Chinese government to implement price control of oil products, while the United States gasoline prices reflect the price of crude oil to international markets, China's gasoline prices lower than the United States. International crude oil prices in 2008 experienced a rapid rise and rapid decline of the process, by the impact of poor Sino-US oil products also changed. January 2008 to September, the U.S. retail price of regular gasoline has been higher than China's. After the rapid decline in international crude oil prices, From the beginning of October 2008, Beijing No. 93 gasoline prices began to exceed U.S. prices, the gap between and has remained at 2 per liter per month, in May 2009, with the rise in international oil prices between the two gap.

China and the United States difference in the end price of refined oil went wrong?

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) statistics, the U.S. price of regular gasoline sales terminals of four components: crude oil costs, refining costs and profits, sales and distribution costs and taxes. Which means the cost of crude oil refineries purchased crude oil prices to the plant, which is the retail price of the most important component of the retail price will normally account for about 50%, which makes the United States closely follow the price of oil products in international crude oil prices. From 2007 to 2009, subject to fluctuations in international oil prices impact the cost of crude oil in the U.S. retail price of regular gasoline at one time in the proportion rose to more than 70%, followed by the rapid decline in April 2009 rose to 56.
4%. The retail price of gasoline tax is the second largest component of, which includes federal, state and local government tax. The third part is refining costs and profits that the oil products spot market price and the difference between the cost of crude oil refineries. The fourth part is the sales and delivery costs, means the retail price of more than three parts to remove the remainder of the post.

China and the United States prices of different oil products. China's refined oil prices has been the use of the Government to disclose prices, terminal does not fully reflect the retail price of the various sectors of production and marketing cost and profit structure. To make the two comparable prices of refined oil, refined oil, mutatis mutandis, the U.S. prices to calculate the retail prices of gasoline in China.

Xiamen University, Center for Economic Research, China's energy to a recent study carried out for both the breakdown of comparison, the results indicate that at least three reasons for China's oil prices higher than the U.S..

One reason is that tax. China's refined oil prices include value-added tax, consumption tax, urban construction tax and education surcharge. Value-added tax and consumption tax is the most important tax, urban construction tax and education surcharge to value-added tax and consumption tax as the tax base. January 2008 to May, China's gasoline tax (including all taxes) of about 0.84 yuan per liter, 6 months to November was about 0.95 yuan per liter. The end of 2008, fuel tax reform program introduced to adjust the formation of refined oil tax consumer income is mainly used to replace the road maintenance fee and other expenses of the six charges, the abolition of subsidies have been approved all over the repayment of government secondary road charges, And grain farmers, some of the difficulties and public sector groups and give the necessary support to take the consumption tax from the amount of fixed charge, the amount levied per liter of petrol to 1 million, to this end, from the beginning of January 2009, gasoline tax increase to every rose 1.7 yuan.

U.S. oil products prices include federal and state fuel tax, sales tax, county and local taxes and so on. Among them, the federal excise tax on the tax department by the federal government domestic oil producers and importers to levy the tax onto the final consumer through retailers. At present, the general federal gasoline per gallon fuel tax rate for the 0.18 U.S. dollars, the general federal diesel fuel tax rate for the 0.24 U.S. dollars per gallon. State fuel tax, mainly in wholesale and retail aspects of collection, and its taxpayers, including distributors, fuel (gas) storage (stations), importers, gas stations, oil and gas pipeline or oil tanker operators, consumers, etc. Tax mainly for road construction and maintenance expenditure. State tax will continue to adjust, but little adjustment. In addition, the U.S. states have their own consumption tax, sales tax and other taxes, and state tax based on tax rates vary.

If you do not consider the county and local taxes, according to EIA statistics on U.S. retail regular gasoline prices, from 2008 to 2009 4, the United States federal and state tax is no big change. Before and during the tax reform, China's value-added tax and consumption tax on gasoline has been higher than the U.S. tax. If the county and local taxes, then to April 2009 as an example, the average state gasoline tax rate of 0.19 U.S. dollars per gallon, and other rate of 0.09 U.S. dollars per gallon, the total state tax of 0.28 U.S. dollars per gallon, combined with federal tax The total tax rate for gasoline 0.46 U.S. dollars per gallon, equivalent to RMB 0.82 yuan per liter, more than 1.71 yuan per liter of China's low-0.
89 yuan, China's gasoline tax is about twice the U.S. average.

U.S. gasoline tax in different states, the highest New York State. China's gasoline tax is not only higher than the U.S. average, and also much higher than New York. April 2009, New York State gasoline tax for the 0.61 U.S. dollars per gallon, or 1.1 yuan per liter, gasoline tax is still lower than China's 0.6 yuan.

In fact, if the maintenance fee to remove part of gasoline tax in China and the United States is very close to the petrol tax. In the stage of rapid economic development, building roads in advance of need, and this affected its economy, roads and bridges leading to excessive costs. If the Government can not pay the high roads and bridges, consumers have to pay. If you need to charge, then, is a tax in order to enhance the efficiency of energy use for the purpose of tax policy, is a good option. The key is that it gives consumers a choice, which means that "many" cars and "what" of the car, which is the promotion of energy efficiency and emission reduction as a major energy-saving measures. The introduction of fuel tax also supports social equity. If the fuel tax is used to meet the road maintenance and construction costs, then how much the road, How much does it cost burden is unfair. Therefore, this part of the difference between China and the United States should be phased in China's economic development requirements.

The second reason is China's retail price of gasoline in the transportation and marketing costs (or profit) share is too high. U.S. retail sales and distribution aspects of the retail price of the cost usually accounts for about 12%, but retail and distribution in China will account for part of the general retail price of around 20%. If in absolute terms since 2009, China's gasoline distribution and retail part of the general higher than in the United States 0.8 yuan per liter, in April 2009 than in the United States increased by 1.

China's gasoline distribution and retail part of the cost is too high for many reasons, there are two aspects: on the one hand, the high cost of transportation and retail push up oil prices, and high oil prices has resulted in high transport costs; on the other hand, because China Most oil products business by China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec to control the two state-owned enterprises, the history of the North-South divide, and provincial and municipal business model classification was not completely broken and regional control of oil products to make clear that the lack of integration of the distribution system, distribution efficiency is relatively low. In addition, the neglect of gas stations and oil depots, the selection of sites for distribution centers may also be caused by factors such as long distance, the main reason for high transport costs.

The third reason is the cost of crude oil refineries in China relative cost of U.S. crude oil refinery to be higher, but the factors on the prices of refined oil should be less than taxes, transportation and marketing costs. According to "China's 2008 National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin" in 2008, China's crude oil import dependency reached 50%. Assumed that from 2008 to 2009 4 China's crude oil refining enterprises from 50 percent of the domestic market, 50% came from imports, China's oil refining enterprises of the CIF value of imports of crude oil and domestic purchase price is higher than the United States. In 2008, the United States the average value of imports of crude oil to 93 U.S. dollars per barrel,
China is as high as 99 U.S. dollars a barrel. If you take into account China's imports of crude oil for the poor quality of some low-quality high-sulfur crude oil, the two countries the gap between the cost of imported crude oil could be bigger. Entered in 2009, with the lower international oil prices, the cost of imported crude oil between the two countries has narrowed the gap. January-April 2009, China and the United States imports of crude CIF value of the gap narrowed to about 3 U.S. dollars a barrel, converted into oil products is about 0.13 yuan per liter. In short, the changes in the cost of crude oil prices on the finished product relatively smaller than the tax differential, transmission and distribution.

As the Middle East is still China's main source of imports of crude oil, resulting in the gap between China and the United States the cost of imported crude oil is a large reason for this is that the so-called "Asian premium", that is: the Middle East, Europe and the United States sold to the price of crude oil to sell below Asia's major consumer of crude oil prices. Caused by the "Asian premium" for many reasons.

China's crude oil is too a single source of imports. China and the United States dependence on Middle East crude oil in varying degrees, thus the elasticity of demand for its crude oil and crude oil prices will be different from the carrying capacity. U.S. crude oil imports scattered sources, including Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and other countries. 2008, 92 countries from the United States imported crude oil, in which members from non-OPEC crude oil imports of crude oil accounted for 54% of total imports from Canada, Mexico, imports of crude oil accounted for 19 percent of total imports, 10%,
The crude oil from the Middle East's largest producing countries - Saudi Arabia's crude oil imports of crude oil imports accounted for only 12% of the total. Dispersed crude oil import sources, suppliers and more competitive, and will have a competitive price. Middle Eastern countries in order to ensure its self-produced crude oil in the U.S. market's competitiveness is bound to make concessions on price. China's crude oil dependence on the Middle East, high crude oil imports in recent years, diversification has not changed this reality, the Middle East crude oil imports in total imports more than 45%. China's crude oil imports, the Middle East crude oil at a relatively monopolistic position on the issue of ownership of crude oil pricing. Therefore, in order to ensure a steady supply of crude oil resources, even if the purchase of crude oil price is higher than Europe and the United States off-shore, the Chinese do not want to undermine the Middle East a result of political and economic relations between oil-producing countries.

The lack of import competition mechanism should also be a problem. WTO accession, the Government will introduce a non-state-owned oil trading mechanism, but because of self-declaration of import conditions for the right to operate inequality, government administration and protection policy and other reasons, the right to operate oil imports are still concentrated in oil, and a small number of state-owned Sinopec Central hands high, for the "Asian premium" there is no effective response measures. In addition, the Asian market, the lack of the right to speak of oil pricing, Also reflect a lack of oil supply and demand in Asia and on behalf of the Asian interests, can the New York Mercantile Exchange with the United States and the United Kingdom's International Petroleum Exchange, with crude oil futures market competition also led to the "Asian premium" of the direct factors.

Under normal circumstances, China's refined oil to make it cheaper, we should address the relatively high cost of transport links in sales (or profits) and the "Asian premium." Solve the "Asian premium" is not controllable by many international factors, more difficult. However, it must be to strengthen the diversification of imported crude oil, in addition to costs, as well as energy security issues. Resolve the relatively high cost of transport links in sales (or profits), the Government should be able to do something, you can in all aspects of oil products (including oil imports) the introduction of private enterprises, introduce competition and fragmented pattern of change in the monopoly, distribution of oil products to increase efficiency and reduce market distortions,
These are to reduce the prices of refined oil in China and effective measures.

2009-6-29