Vietnam fuel price sees 8th straight drop

Retail gasoline prices in Vietnam slipped by VND450-630 ($0.03) a liter on Wednesday, the eighth consecutive decrease since the beginning of July and the lowest since the beginning of the year.

The prices of RON95 and E5 RON92 gasoline fell by VND630 and VND450 to VND22,580 and VND21,780 ($0.92) a liter, respectively.

Diesel oil dropped by VND1,650 to VND22,530 ($0.95). Kerosene also declined by VND1,970 to VND22,440 ($0.94) a liter.

Retail gasoline prices in the country have witnessed 24 adjustments in the year to date, including 13 hikes and 11 reductions.

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 second 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 in the first eight months of the year rose 2.58% 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.

The ADB on Tuesday said the country's inflation is anticipated at 3.8% in 2022 and 4% in 2023, adding that all figures are the same as in the report released in April.