China fuel price hike may not sap demand

Chinese motorists, long accustomed to cheap gas, seemed to take in stride a government decision to boost fuel prices Friday by as much as 18 percent.

“Maybe I might drive a bit less. But if it’s for business, then if I have to drive, I will,” said He Ping, a trading company employee who was refilling his VW Jetta at a Beijing gas station.

There were at least a dozen vehicles waiting behind him in line.

While higher prices for China’s state-controlled fuel will inevitably squeeze consumers at both filling stations and grocery stores, analysts say it is unlikely to make an immediate or huge dent in the country’s hunger for oil.

AP