A Vietnamese motorist has a refill at a local gas station. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre
Vietnam is likely to increase retail gasoline prices this upcoming Monday after the holiday break, due to rising international prices.
Vo Van Quyen, in charge of domestic trade affairs at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at a press briefing early this week that changes to pump prices will be announced on Monday, after the six-day break.
Quyen did not say explicitly that prices will rise, but said international oil prices have been going up, some day by as much as US$4 a barrel.
“That will affect our retail prices.”
He said local retailers are selling at a loss and the ministry has been using the price stabilization fund to help cover the gap.
Vietnam’s most popular gasoline grade 92 RON is now sold at around VND17,286, nearly 80 US cents, per liter, following a bold 10.2 percent increase on March 11. The increase came right after the government raised green taxes on fuel products threefold.
That was the first break in the domestic fuel prices’ downtrend that started in July last year, with 13 consecutive cuts.
