Vietnam cuts fuel prices by up to 5.3 pct

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Vietnam hikes fuel prices by 36 per cent

Hanoi, August 14: : Vietnam, which is almost entirely reliant on oil product imports because it lacks major refineries, has slashed retail petrol prices by up to 5.3 per cent from Thursday, officials said.

The cut came three weeks after Hanoi unexpectedly raised fuel prices by as much as 36 per cent on July 21 when the government gave up fuel subsidies as world oil prices climbed to a record high of nearly $150 a barrel.

World oil prices now stand at around $117 per barrel, having lost more than 20 per cent from their July record to stand at around $117 per barrel.

"The government has ordered us to reduce prices following world price declines," an official at top oil product importer and retailer Petrolimex said.

The most popular 92-octane petrol grade now retails at 18,000 dong per litre, down 5.3 per cent from 19,000 dong but still represents a rise of nearly 40 per cent since the end of 2007.

The 95-octane grade is now at 18,500 dong ($1.12) per litre, down 4 per cent from 19,300 dong previously, while diesel is left changed at 15,950 dong per litre, Petrolimex's new price list showed.

Vietnam, Asia's second-largest importer of petrol and diesel, will complete its first refinery, the 140,000-bpd Dung Quat plant, by February next year.

The impact of Thursday's fuel price reduction will not be seen in August's monthly inflation data because the government statistics agency says it stops taking price details on the 15th day of each month to calculate the consumer price index.

August's inflation data, expected to be released during the last week of this month, would reflect the impact of the July 21 fuel price hike.