Taipei: State-owned oil supplier CPC Corp., Taiwan, announced that it will maintain domestic gasoline and diesel prices next week despite a decline in international crude oil prices.According to Focus Taiwan, CPC stated that retail prices for 92, 95, and 98-octane unleaded gasoline will remain at NT$30.5, NT$32.0, and NT$34.0 per liter, respectively, from midnight Monday through August 9. The price of premium diesel will also stay at NT$29.3 per liter during this period.CPC explained that its floating pricing mechanism, which relies on a weighted average of 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude, indicated a drop in the average international crude oil price from US$90.08 per barrel last week to US$83.99 this week. This decrease was attributed to increased flows through the Strait of Hormuz, alleviating supply concerns.Despite the reduction in crude oil prices, CPC decided to keep domestic fuel prices steady, absorbing losses of NT$0.9 per liter on gasoline sales and NT$2.1 per liter on diesel sales. The company noted that while crude prices fell, they remained significantly higher than levels observed before tensions in the Middle East heightened.CPC estimates that, as of Sunday, it will have absorbed NT$16.27 billion (US$502 million) in losses since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East at the end of February. This decision aligns with the government's price stabilization measures intended to curb domestic inflation by not transferring higher international crude oil prices to consumers.