The Chinese government on Thursday increased the prices of gasoline, diesel oil by 17 percent. The National Development and Reform Commission raised the price of gasoline by 0.8 yuan or 12 U.S cents per liter.

When news of the increase spread, cars queued up in front of gas stations in many cities including Beijing to buy as much fuel as possible on Thursday night.

The country's economic planning commission explains that the soaring price of crude oil on the international market is the main reason for the rise in gas prices.

The move is expected to bring some relief to the domestic refineries. But experts are concerned that the increased oil prices could push up the rate of inflation.

In a Beijing News quote, Lin Boqiang, the director of the China Centre for Energy Research at Xiamen University, says that China is a big coal-consuming country, and oil consumption accounts for only 20% of the total.

Professor Lin says industrial and commercial undertakings would have a limited amount of impact because their power expenses only account for a small portion of their total costs. He adds that the rise of oil and electricity prices will enhance energy utilization and effectively reduce energy need.