Starting from midnight on November 1, retail prices for all grades of gasoline and diesel sold in Harbin will be increased, according to an announcement released on October 31 by the Harbin branch of PetroChina, with the adjustment attributed to changes in refined oil density.
Following this adjustment, 92-octane gasoline will rise by 0.07 yuan per liter, moving from 8.85 yuan to 8.92 yuan per liter; 95-octane gasoline will increase by 0.05 yuan per liter, from 9.48 yuan to 9.53 yuan; 98-octane gasoline will go up by 0.05 yuan per liter, from 10.75 yuan to 10.80 yuan; 0-diesel will rise by 0.05 yuan per liter, from 8.36 yuan to 8.41 yuan; and -35-diesel will edge up by 0.02 yuan per liter, from 9.63 yuan to 9.65 yuan.
Domestic refined oil prices are set on a per-tonne basis, while gas stations sell fuel by the liter, with the conversion between tonne prices and liter prices relying on density. A density adjustment means the per-tonne price remains unchanged while the density parameter used to convert tonnes into liters is updated, thereby altering the retail price per liter.
As winter arrives in Harbin and temperatures drop, oil products expand and contract with heat, causing their density to increase. Adjusting the density is intended to match the actual physical properties of winter-grade fuel and to ensure fair and reasonable conversion between weight-based and volume-based pricing.
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