Vietnam Raises Retail Fuel Prices by 5 pct to 7-month High
People line up to get fuel for their motorbikes at a gas station in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 21, 2022. Photo: VNA/Handout via Xinhua
- By Xinhua News Agency
- April 12, 2023 4:08 PM
HANOI -- Vietnam has raised the retail prices of gasoline and other oil products by 5 percent to the highest level since last September as global oil prices spiked following output cuts by OPEC+ producers, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Tuesday.
Gasoline prices rose around 5 percent to 24,240 Vietnamese dong (1.03 U.S. dollars) per liter for RON95 bio-fuel and to 23,170 dong per liter for E5 RON92 while the prices of other fuel oil products, including diesel and kerosene, were increased by 3.7 percent to 20,140 dong and 19,730 dong, respectively, the trade ministry said a statement.
Global oil prices have been heading higher after Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers earlier this month announced more oil output cuts of around 1.6 million barrels per day, driving fuel prices on the international market up between 4.8 percent and 8.3 percent, local media VnExpress reported.
Besides, worries about some combination of persistent inflation, rising interest rates, and continued monetary tightening by central banks have spurred global oil prices, said the trade ministry.
Major importers and distributors are reported to drastically cut commissions for local retailers in the past week to counter oil price hikes, according to local newspaper Tuoi Tre (Youth).
Tuesday's price change is Vietnam's 11th this year. Regulators said consumers now have to pay an extra 150 dong per liter of E5 RON92 and 300 dong per liter of RON95.
Vietnam has allowed petrol distributors to set up a petrol price stabilization fund, which they can tap to help ease losses. (1 U.S. dollar equals 23,606 Vietnamese dong)
