Japan's April retail gasoline prices rise to 30-month high Filed: 04/24/2000

By Taizo Hirose c.2000 Bloomberg News

Tokyo, April 24 (Bloomberg)  Regular gasoline prices at Japanese service stations rose for the second straight month as of April 10 to the highest in two and a half years as Japanese oil refiners cut output, industry figures show.

Regular gasoline sold at 100 yen a liter, the highest since October 1997 and up 1 yen from a month earlier, said the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. High-octane gasoline, kerosene and diesel all rose.

"Prices are good, especially given that Japan is not in a high demand season," said Kazuhiro Sakuma, a senior analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.

Singapore oil prices have risen since late last year, discouraging imports to Japan and contributing to the rise in Japanese product prices, Sakuma said. Singapore is the world's third-largest export center for oil products.

http://www.bakersfield.com/oil/i--1255556903.asp

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 24, 2000