Vietnam News Network

Petrol distributors have raised petrol prices by another 1,000 dong per litre as of 10 am today, June 10, 2009 after getting approval from the Ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade.

The decision to approve a price increase was made in the context of oil prices heating up in the world with demand forecast to increase this summer.

Under an interministerial circular issued previously, the petrol price must not increase by more than 500 dong per litre at a time. However, as enterprises are incurring heavy losses of 2,000 dong per litre, the ministries approved the price increase of 1,000 dong per litre on this occasion.

At 8.30 am on June 10, Hanoi time, forward crude oil with delivery in June at the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $70.79/barrel, an increase of UScent78 or 1.1 percent over the previous trading session.

In Singapore, the main supplier to Vietnam, the prices of petrol and oil products have remained high in the last 20 days. DO 0.25 price is hovering around $70/barrel, A92 petrol $72. The price of A92 petrol has sometimes exceeded $76/barrel.

As oil and petrol prices kept rising on the world’s market, in late May, some key importers sought permission to raise retail prices on the domestic market. However, their proposals were refused twice.

Petrolimex and other key petrol importers critically responded to ministries’ decision on rejecting the proposal on raising retail petrol prices. Petrolimex said that it was incurring the loss of 50-60 billion dong per day.

Petrolimex’s Deputy General Director Vuong Thai Dung, in an interview with the press some days ago, criticised the management of government agencies. He said that if the ministries did not allow them to raise sale prices, this would compound businesses’ losses and enlarge the gap between the petrol prices in Vietnam and regional countries.