China's domestic auto prices were steady with a slight increase in June while imported vehicle prices rose at a faster rate, according to the price monitoring center under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner.

Prices of domestic cars saw a month-on-month increase of 0.9 percent last month, while the year on year figure stood at 1.35 percent, said a report released on NDRC's Web site Friday, based on a survey conducted in 36 large and mid-size cities in China.

Price of imported vehicles rose 1.22 percent from the previous month, with a year-on-year growth of 7.26 percent.

Passenger vehicle prices increased 0.93 percent month on month but dropped 2.77 percent year on year. Commercial vehicle prices maintained a upward trend, rising 0.98 percent month on month and 7.27 percent year on year.

Analysts had contributed the continual rise in auto prices to the increasing demand in the domestic auto market, which was boosted by government stimulus policies.

The surge in demand brought about increasing sales in the first half, said Liu Lixi, auto industry analyst from Northeast Securities.

China halved the purchase tax on passenger cars to 5 percent for models with engine displacements of less than 1.6 liters and started a rebate program for auto buyers in the rural area early this year.

The country's auto sales topped 1.14 million units in June, up 36.48 percent over the figure a year earlier, the fourth month in a row surpassing the 1.1 million units mark, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The government stimulus plan for the automobile industry would maintain the balance between supply and demand in the auto market, therefore auto prices would maintain steady with little fluctuation in the second half of the year, the NDRC report predicted.

China unveiled a 4-trillion-yuan (585 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package last November and 10 specific industry stimulus plans for autos, iron and steel, petrochemicals and other sectors this year to shore up the Chinese economy.

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2009)