The nation's largest oil refiner, Nippon Oil Corp., said Wednesday it will increase the average wholesale price for gasoline and other petroleum goods for May by 2.4 yen per liter to pass on higher crude prices.
The announcement came hours after three other major refiners -- Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan Energy Corp. and Cosmo Oil Co. -- said they will boost their wholesale prices by between 2.0 yen and 2.3 yen.
The four refiners' latest wholesale price hikes are their fourth consecutive monthly hikes since February, and bring the cumulative price increase to between 10.3 yen and 10.8 yen.
As of Monday, the average retail price of regular gasoline in the Japanese marketplace rose to 123 yen per liter after taxes, up 1 yen from the previous week, according to the Oil Information Center.