Bucharest, Ramadan 14, 1436, Jul 1, 2015, SPA -- Romania's government has hiked natural gas prices by 12 percent as part of a deregulation of energy prices it agreed with lenders and the European Union. The government said it was increasing gas from 53.5 lei to 60 lei per cubic meter on Wednesday, and gas prices will gradually continue to rise until 2021 as agreed with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the EU. On Tuesday, the government increased the minimum monthly salary from 975 lei to 1,050 lei ($243 to $262), the second increase this year, AP reported. --SPA 17:38 LOCAL TIME 14:38 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w