The world's most valuable oil and gas producer has warned that China may hold off on fuel price rises because of fears of rising inflationary pressures on the mainland. PetroChina yesterday posted a 9.7 per cent fall in net profit to 103.39 billion yuan (HK$117.53 billion) in 2009. This is 4.4 per cent less than the 108.17 billion yuan average estimate of 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, and its chairman poured cold water on speculation that the government might respond to rising crude oil prices with a fuel price hike. 'I have not heard that fuel prices will be raised by the end of this month as people in the market are speculating,' company chairman Jiang Jiemin said. 'I personally don't think the chances of a fuel hike are that high because the February consumer price index hit 2.7 per cent, which is close to Beijing's 3 per cent annual target. Now is not a good time to raise prices.'