Greece extends motor fuel discounts through mid-October

ATHENS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Greece will raise diesel fuel discounts and extend them through mid-October in an ongoing effort to curb the impact of surging fuel costs on households and businesses.

Greece's biggest oil refiner, Helleniq Energy, will continue offering a discount of €0.0795 a litre on unleaded gasoline and €0.0405 a litre on diesel fuel — which have been in place since July 14 — until October 14, the company said in a statement.

The discounts are part of aid offered by Greece's two biggest oil refiners and the state as the conflict in the Middle East drives up fuel prices and raises the cost of everything from groceries to industrial materials.

"The measure ... is the most effective and immediate way to achieve across-the-board price cuts," Helleniq said.

The state discount on diesel fuel will also be increased by €0.05 to €0.15 a litre for the next two weeks, raising the total discount at service stations to €0.20 a litre, the Greek government said on Wednesday.

"It is a cascading storm that is knocking on every country's door, essentially testing the limits of their budgets," Mitsotakis said in remarks at a cabinet meeting broadcast on public television.

"Since the situation is very fluid, our interventions will be reviewed every 15 days," he added. 

The government will also announce support for heating oil in the two weeks before October 15, when consumers start buying the fuel for the winter, Mitsotakis said.

Greece has said it will aim at a market price below €1.75 per litre.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Editing by Louise Heavens and Kate Mayberry)