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(Yicai Global) July 25 -- Gas stations across China have been racing to cut prices recently. In some areas, the discount rate of gasoline reached USD0.22 (CNY1.5) per liter.
A slowdown in car sales growth, increasing new-energy vehicles sales and the popularity of shared bicycles have inhibited gasoline consumption, which was an important factor leading to gas stations promotions, experts said.
In January to April of this year, China's apparent consumption of gasoline (net output plus import volume) recorded negative growth for the first time. It was estimated that shared bicycles would reduce gasoline consumption by 1.4 million tons this year, or 1.1 percent, said Hu Huichun, a senior oil analyst at commodity information portal Sci199.com. China's vigorous NEV development has made is possible for the country to use less fossil fuel, said Hu. "The growth rate of gasoline consumption will continue to slow down in the future," Hu said.
As the international oil price rises, the price of 93-octane gas in the Shanghai area is CNY6.03 per liter, while 97-octane is CNY6.42 per liter.