World oil prices

Reuters reported that oil prices fell more than $1 at the end of the week's final trading session as Chinese economic data raised doubts about demand growth following Saudi Arabia's decision to cut production over the weekend.

Petrol prices experience second week of decline. Photo illustration: Ripplesnigeria

Brent crude futures fell $1.17, or 1.5%, to $74.79 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.12, or 1.6%, to $70.17 a barrel.

With prices sliding in many sessions this week, oil prices this week continued to extend last week's decline, marking the second consecutive week of decline.

Both oil benchmarks lost more than $3 on June 8 after the market digested news that a nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran was imminent, meaning more supplies would be available to the market. However, prices later recovered some of those losses as both the U.S. and Iran denied the report.

Commenting on the price fluctuations on June 8, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo emphasized that this volatility shows how "fragile" oil is.

Saudi Arabia’s production cuts had pushed oil prices up, but then rumors of a possible return of Iranian barrels sent prices tumbling, the analyst said. “Buyers will likely stay on the sidelines until inventories are drawn down more clearly,” Staunovo said.

Oil prices rose at the start of the week, supported by Saudi Arabia’s pledge at the OPEC+ policy meeting last weekend to further cut production. Specifically, the Middle Eastern country’s output will fall to 9 million barrels per day in July, down 1 million barrels per day.

The acceleration in oil prices was short-lived as rising US fuel inventories and weak Chinese export data weighed on the market.

Looking ahead to the Northern Hemisphere summer driving season, demand will be the key determinant of whether tight inventories push oil prices higher or weak demand leads to lower oil prices, said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at US Bank Asset Management.

Oil prices may reverse upward after the Fed's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Illustration photo: Reuters

China's factory gate prices fell at their fastest pace in seven years and faster than forecast in May as weakening demand weighed on a slowing manufacturing sector and cast a cloud over the East Asian nation's fragile economic recovery, Reuters reported.

Some analysts expect oil prices to rise if the US Federal Reserve pauses its interest rate hikes at its next meeting on June 13 and 14. Analysts say the Fed’s decision could also influence Saudi Arabia’s next move.

The important thing is that despite the changes (Saudi Arabia, US-Iran) to production, oil prices remain below $80/barrel, which will certainly disappoint Saudi Arabia, according to OANDA analyst Craig Erlam.

Oil prices will move in response to inflation data and interest rate decisions in the coming weeks, Erlam said.

Domestic gasoline prices

Domestic retail prices of gasoline on June 10 are as follows:

E5 RON 92 gasoline is not more than 20,878 VND/liter.

RON 95 gasoline is not more than 22,015 VND/liter.

Diesel oil not more than 17,943 VND/liter.

Kerosene not more than 17,771 VND/liter.

Fuel oil not exceeding 14,883 VND/kg.

Although world oil prices have fluctuated downward for two consecutive weeks, the reference price in the Singapore market has increased slightly, so it is likely that in the next price adjustment period of the Ministry of Finance - Industry and Trade (expected on June 12), oil prices will be adjusted slightly up or remain unchanged.

Since the beginning of the year, gasoline prices have undergone 15 adjustments, of which 9 have increased, 5 have decreased, and 1 has remained unchanged.

MAI HUONG