Austria increasing petrol price 'brake', reinstating cap on retailers' margins

VIENNA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Austria's government said on Wednesday it will increase its so-called petrol price brake aimed at cushioning the blow to consumers of higher oil prices from the conflict in the Middle East, reinstating a cap on retailers' margins scrapped in June.

• The measure was introduced in April with two equal components: a cap on retailers' margins and a cut in petrol tax, which together totalled 10 euro cents (11 dollar cents) per litre. The margin cap was eliminated two months later.

• The conservative-led coalition government last announced on August 31 it was extending a 1.9 cents per litre petrol-tax cut by another month until the end of September.

• The government said in a statement on Wednesday the petrol-tax cut would more than treble to 6.7 cents per litre as of October 1, and retailers' margins would be reduced by 3.5 cents per litre.

• Each extension of the measure usually lasts a month and at the end of the month the three ruling centrist parties discuss whether and in what form to renew it.

• This time, however, the government said the newly agreed rate would last two months, through October and November.

• The government has been blaming stubbornly high inflation on US President Donald Trump because of the conflict in the Middle East, which has disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. It referS to this as "Trumpflation".

• "The escalation in the Middle East and the resulting Trumpflation have again led to a significant rise in petrol prices. We are addressing this development with the new petrol price brake, which will bring down prices at the pump," Chancellor Christian Stocker said.

• ($1 = 0.8777 euros)

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Toby Chopra)