China Likely to Raise Pump Fuel Prices by 4-5 pct -Industry Officials

China is likely to raise retail gasoline and diesel prices by close to 5 percent as early as Friday following three straight cuts since May, industry officials said, a move that could help pare refining losses at oil firms.

Energy consultancy C1 Energy said a hike of around 400 yuan ($63) per tonne was widely expected as global crude prices had by Wednesday climbed 7.2 percent since the last price change in China on July 11.

An increase in benchmark crude markets by more than 4 percent over a 22-working-day period typically triggers a hike under China's current pricing regime, though the government can postpone any rise if it sees fit.

"The expectations for a price increase are very strong. We've seen fuel buying recovering slightly because of that," said a fuel marketing official with Sinopec Corp, China's largest state refiner.

Easing inflation could also provide a good window for a price hike, oil officials said. China's annual consumer inflation fell to a 30-month low in July.

China's three price cuts between May and July, which shaved off a combined 14 percent in pump prices, prompted some analysts to slash earning outlooks for refining giant Sinopec.

Mirae Asset Securities analyst Gordon Kwan last month lowered his Sinopec profit estimates by 38 percent for 2012 to reflect worse-than-expected downstream performance in refining and petrochemicals.