Vehicles line up at a gas station before the midnight deadline for price rises, in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, June 19, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Finance said late Friday it allocated another 3.78 billion yuan (548 million U.S. dollars) in subsidies to help low-income families against the latest fuel price hikes announced a day earlier.

    Of the total, 1.85 billion yuan will go to urban low-income families, and the rest will be offered to such families in rural areas, the ministry said.

    Low-income families in cities would get an extra 15 yuan for each person every month starting from July, 10 yuan for rural families, according to the announcement on Thursday.

    The ministry had earmarked early on Friday 19.8 billion yuan in subsidies to cover extra expenses of groups and sectors that could be affected, including grain producers, taxis and urban and rural buses.

    The subsidies were intended to "effectively ease the cost pressure on some low-income groups and public service industries exerted by the fuel price adjustment," said the ministry earlier.

    It was part of the government effort to blunt the impact of a surprise increase of fuel prices, since inflationary pressure is already high.

    China's benchmark gasoline and diesel oil retail prices were raised by 1,000 yuan per tonne and that of aviation kerosene went up by 1,500 yuan per tonne, effective on Friday, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

    However, fares for passenger rail services, urban and rural public transport and taxis would be unchanged, said the commission.

Chinese official says refiners lost $435 per tonne before price hike

    BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese oil refiners suffered a loss of about 3,000 yuan (435 U.S dollars) for each ton of production before the overnight price rise. This was due to the widening gap between the frozen domestic and soaring global prices.

    Xu Kunlin, deputy head of the pricing department with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), made the remark during an online interview on Friday. Full story

NDRC: Latest fuel, electricity price rise part of "steady" reform on resources prices

    BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) experts told Xinhua on Friday that Thursday's move to raise fuel and electricity prices was intended to adjust market supply and demand and better allocate resources with the leverage of prices.

    The move was in line with the country's goal to bring the market more into play in forming prices under macro controls, said the unidentified NDRC experts. Full story

China to raise prices of refined oil, electricity

    BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- China's top economic planner announced Thursday night the country will raise the prices of gasoline, diesel oil, aviation kerosene and electricity, revealing an unprecedented broad plan to raise energy prices.

    Beginning Friday, the benchmark gasoline and diesel oil retail prices will be marked up by 1,000 yuan (144.9 U.S. dollars) per tonne, with the price of aviation kerosene up by 1,500 yuan per tonne. Full story

Source: Xinhua