July 11, 2012. China, the world's second-biggest oil consumer, reduced fuel prices for the third time since May after crude tumbled, easing costs for factories and motorists while threatening profit margins at refiners. The maximum at which gasoline can be sold at the pump fell by 420 yuan ($66) a metric ton starting and diesel slid by 400 yuan. The cuts represent a reduction of as much as 4.8 percent. Falling oil costs have allowed China, which imports more than half its crude, to reduce fuel rates as its economy cools. The government may say that gross domestic product in the second quarter expanded at the slowest pace since 2009. The cuts are eroding margins at China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, and PetroChina Co., the nation's biggest crude processors.