Gasoline prices hiked for third consecutive time

Retail gasoline prices in Vietnam increased by VND380-410 ($0.02) a liter on Tuesday, the third hike after nine consecutive drops since late April.

RON 95-III gasoline went up to VND22,750 ($0.92) per liter, while E5 RON 92 hit VND21,870 ($0.88).

Diesel oil climbed by VND290 to VND25,070 ($1). Kerosene declined by VND120 to VND23,780 ($0.96) a liter.

The new diesel oil price is VND2,320 ($0.09) higher than that for RON 95-III.

As for Tuesday's price cuts, Vietnamese authorities continued to avoid the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund. Instead, they decreased provisions for the fund, at VND300 for RON 95-III gasoline, and VND200 for each liter of E5 RON 92.

The National Assembly on July 6 adopted lowered environmental taxes on fuel, applied from July 11 till the year-end, amid globally increasing oil prices that put pressure on inflation.

The tax cuts - the third this year after the first in April - are expected to help the Vietnamese economy better navigate a global situation in which oil prices have soared.

Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in October rose 4.16% from December 2021 and 4.3% year-on-year, reflecting rising inflationary pressure. On average, the CPI in the first 10 months of the year increased by 2.89% over the same period last year.

Core inflation increased by 2.14%, which reflects fluctuations in consumer prices mainly driven by the price of food and energy. Core inflation is a measure of inflation that excludes some volatile commodities such as food and energy.

Vietnam is facing rising inflationary pressure due to surging prices of energy and input materials and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.