Vietnam fuel price sees 5th straight drop

Retail gasoline prices in Vietnam slipped by VND900-940 ($0.04) a liter on Thursday, the fifth consecutive decrease since the beginning of July, equaling October 2021 levels.

Retail gasoline prices in Vietnam slipped by VND900-940 ($0.04) a liter on Thursday, the fifth consecutive decrease since the beginning of July, equaling October 2021 levels.

A gasoline station in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of Vietnamnet newspaper.

The prices of RON95 and E5 RON92 gasoline fell by VND940 and VND900 to VND24,660 and VND23,720 ($1.01) a liter, respectively.

Diesel oil dipped by VND1,000 to VND22,900 ($0.98). Kerosene also dropped by VND1,210 to VND23,320 ($0.99) a liter.

Retail gasoline prices in the country have witnessed 21 adjustments in the year to date, including 13 hikes and eight reductions.

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

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

Vietnam's consumer price index in the first seven months of the year rose 2.54% on average against the same period last year. Fluctuations in consumer prices are mainly caused by food and gasoline costs.

The World Bank on August 8 put Vietnam's inflation forecast at 3.8% in 2022 due to higher prices of energy, lower than the State Bank goal of 4%. The figure is expected to rise to 4% in 2023, before subsiding to 3.3% in 2024.