(Xinhua)  China will auction another 800,000 tons of its wheat reserves Thursday, the fourth such auction since November in a bid to restrain prices in the domestic market.

    The wheat will be auctioned Thursday at Zhengzhou, Hefei and Shijiazhuang, the capitals of Henan, Anhui and Hebei provinces, said Zhang Liwei, an official with the State Grain Administration.

    Zhang said the government would intervene in the market periodically to distribute its grain reserves, but did not give any further details.

    In November, the wheat price was driven up by booming flour production as the Chinese Lunar New Year draws near.

    In response to the wheat shortage in the market, China sold more than 2 million tons of its reserves last month.

    The wheat price has dipped from its November high of 1600-1700 yuan per ton to 1500-1600 yuan per ton, and will gradually stabilize, said Zhang.

    Meanwhile, China has taken measures to restrict corn exports to ensure sufficient domestic supplies. The price of corn has jumped to 1650-1700 yuan per ton in China due to surging demand on the global market as bio-ethanol gasoline gains popularity. Bio-ethanol gasoline uses corn as a raw material.

    Official data show that up to end of September, China had purchased 42 million tons of wheat to fill state reserves and strengthen its ability to regulate wheat prices.