Vietnam lifts fuel prices

HANOI, Feb 24 (AFP): Vietnam Thursday raised petrol prices by 18 per cent, adding to worries over rising inflation and resulting in long queues as motorists rushed to fill up before the increase took effect. The hike, announced the same day, had been widely expected after Vietnam devalued its currency early this month for the fourth time since late 2009, pushing up the cost of imported fuel. Vietnam subsidises petrol prices to offset the effect of rising oil prices, which hit two-year highs on world markets in Asian trade Thursday as turmoil continued in the Middle East. Another key consumer commodity, electricity, will increase in price by 15 per cent in Vietnam next month, official media said this week. Hundreds of motorbike riders and motorists had waited at one central Hanoi petrol station hoping to beat the mid-morning price rise, which also saw the cost of diesel shoot up about 24 per cent.