Oil prices today May 16: Brent and WTI oil slightly increased

World oil prices

On the morning of May 16, 2025, world oil prices showed signs of recovery. At 7:30 a.m. (Vietnam time), Brent crude oil prices increased by 0.19% to 64.72 USD/barrel; US WTI crude oil increased by 0.34% to 61.83 USD/barrel. Meanwhile, crude oil prices for October delivery on the Tokyo Stock Exchange decreased slightly by 0.26% to 56,490 JPY/barrel.

The slight increase occurred in the context of the market continuously receiving conflicting information related to the US-Iran relationship. US President Donald Trump announced that the two sides are getting closer to a nuclear deal, and Iran has also expressed its willingness to agree if the US lifts sanctions.

An Iranian official said that if economic sanctions are lifted, Iran could release about 800,000 barrels of oil per day onto the global market. This would put a lot of pressure on oil prices in the coming time, according to Ole Hvalbye of SEB.

But tensions have not eased. The US Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions aimed at curbing Iran’s ballistic missile program, and has also sanctioned about 20 companies accused of shipping Iranian oil to China. These moves come just after the fourth round of talks between the two countries in Oman.

The market is currently torn between two extremes: either Iran will continue to have its production restricted, or it will be allowed to return to the market with full export capacity. This uncertainty is causing oil prices to fluctuate continuously, said John Kilduff of Again Capital.

In another development, Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet in Türkiye. This action is said to reduce hopes of a breakthrough in peace negotiations, making investors more concerned about oil supplies from Russia.

President Zelenskiy said that Mr. Putin’s sending of a delegation without attending the war in person was a sign of his lack of willingness to end the war. According to Mr. Kilduff, this inadvertently supported oil prices, because if the Russia-Ukraine conflict cannot be cooled down, oil supplies from Russia will hardly recover as expected.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has raised its forecast for oil demand in 2025 to 740,000 barrels per day, up 20,000 barrels from its previous report. The reason is that expectations of a global economic recovery and low oil prices are boosting consumption.

Oil prices today May 16: Brent and WTI oil slightly increased

Domestic gasoline prices today May 16

On the afternoon of May 15, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance announced an increase in the prices of petroleum products. The new prices will take effect from 3:00 p.m. the same day.

Specifically, E5 RON 92 gasoline increased by 403 VND/liter, raising the maximum selling price to 19,180 VND/liter. RON 95-III gasoline increased by 415 VND/liter, reaching 19,594 VND/liter.

The price of 0.05S diesel increased by 419 VND/liter, to 17,228 VND/liter. Kerosene increased by 285 VND/liter, reaching 17,226 VND/liter. Mazut 180CST 3.5S had the highest increase, by 627 VND/kg, currently selling for a maximum of 16,160 VND/kg.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/gia-xang-dau-hom-nay-16-5-dau-brent-va-wti-tang-nhe-3154880.html