China slashes fuel prices to boost demand The price reduction is the second cut this year and follows Thursday's surprise announcement that interest rates were being dropped by a quarter point as Beijing battles slowing growth. The fuel cut is the largest since late 2008, and will see the government lower the ceiling on retail prices by 530 yuan (£54) a tonne and diesel by 510 yuan, an official from a state-owned oil company said. China's oil demand dropped to a six-month low in April and posted its first yearly decline in at least three years. According to China's fuel pricing rules, a change is considered if a weighted moving average price of three types of international crude oils rises or falls 4pc, and the interval between two price changes is at least 22 working days. Fuel price cuts follow that formula closely, but increases are often postponed or reduced in scale to ease inflation. The move has raised fears that industrial production and inflation data due out over the weekend will be poor.