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Retail petrol prices are slashed at 4 pm on January 21, following global price declines. — Photo nguoiduatin.vn
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HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Retail prices of petrol were lowered at 4 pm on January 21, following orders from the Ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade.
The Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) now lists the price of RON 92 gasoline at between VND15,670 and VND15,980 (US$0.75 and 0.76) per litre, down from between VND17,570 and VND17,920 ($0.84 and 0.85) per litre.
Earlier in the day, the ministries asked key enterprises to slash these prices by at least VND1,897 (9 cents) per litre in the context that global oil prices have witnessed continuing declines.
They also asked them to apply price cuts of at least VND1,459 (6.9 cents) for a litre of diesel, VND1,494 (7.1 cents) for a litre of kerosene and VND1,078 (5.1 cents) for a kilogramme of mazut.
At Petrolimex, the new prices have been fixed at between VND15,120 and VND15,470 ($0.72-0.74) for diesel, VND15,610 to VND15,920 ($0.74 to 0.76) for kerosene, and between VND11,750 and VN12,460 ($0.56 and 0.59) for mazut.
The ministries said that during the last fortnight, a period during which the authorities calculated the base prices for fuel dealers, oil prices in Singapore hovered at around $54 a barrel, down nearly $10, compared with the previous cycle. The oil prices even slumped to approximately $50 a barrel during some sessions.
January 21's price cuts are the second adjustment this year, after retail petrol price drops were recorded on January 6.
As per a Government Office directive released on January 20, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh asked the ministries to closely monitor the fluctuations in crude oil prices in the global market and to adopt timely measures for determining import taxes and retail fuel prices.
This was needed to harmonise the interests of the Government, enterprises and consumers, as well as help maintain macro-economic stability, the Deputy PM added.
The Ministry of Finance confirmed in an online statement on January 21 that preferential import tax rates will remain unchanged for petrol products, after it had reportedly revoked January 20's decision to step up these duties.
According to a Circular issued by the Ministry on January 6, the tax rate has been fixed at 35 per cent for gasoline, kerosene and mazut, 30 per cent for diesel, and 25 per cent for jet fuel.
The unchanged duties will "enable more room for price operations and help reduce costs for the economy" in a context that the prices of crude oil and petrol products in the global market continue to decline, the statement explained.
Last year, petrol product prices were adjusted 24 times. The prices of gasoline were slashed 12 times during the second half of 2014 alone, with the combined cut value pegged at VND7,769 ($0.37) per litre. — VNS