Oil wholesalers may raise gasoline prices in line with surges in crude oil prices, oil firms said Thursday.
"Higher procurement costs due to a rise in crude oil prices and the yen's depreciation against the dollar may lead to a price hike for gasoline and other petroleum products in September and beyond," said an official at Nippon Oil Corp.
Average retail prices of regular gasoline are currently at 114 yen per liter, up about 14 yen from levels seen at the beginning of the year.
Procurement costs for gasoline are likely to rise by nearly 1 yen per liter if the uptrend in crude oil prices and the yen's downtrend continue, according to an industry official.