June 20, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 15, 1429

BEIJING, June 19: China will raise petrol and diesel prices from Friday, the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the country’s top economic planner.

Petrol and diesel prices would go up by 1,000 yuan ($145) per ton while aviation kerosene would increase by 1,500 yuan a ton, the National Development and Reform Commission announced late Thursday, according to Xinhua.

The average electricity price would be raised by 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour from July 1 but urban and rural residents and the farming and fertiliser production sectors would be exempt, it said.

The Chinese government, which has made taming inflation its top economic priority, imposes strict controls on energy prices due to fears that higher fuel or power costs could fan inflation already near 12-year highs.

But the centralised pricing system and rising international crude costs have left domestic oil majors such Sinopec saddled with huge refining losses and led to mounting calls for the government to loosen its price controls.

The price of oil has overtaken $130 a barrel, and has even flirted with $140, with some analysts saying the possibility of hitting $200 a barrel is not far away.

China accounts for around 40 per cent of the growth in global oil consumption to fuel its rapidly expanding economy.—AFP