Why have gasoline prices decreased for four consecutive periods?

Gasoline prices have decreased for four consecutive periods. Photo: Nguyen Hai

According to the fuel price adjustment on the afternoon of August 1st, the price of RON 95-III gasoline (the most common type on the market) decreased by 280 VND, to 22,600 VND per liter. E5 RON 92 gasoline remained at 21,610 VND per liter, down 290 VND.

New prices for petroleum products range from 16,880 to 20,090 VND per liter. Compared to seven days ago, diesel fuel has decreased by 320 VND, down to 19,870 VND per liter. Kerosene is 230 VND cheaper, and fuel oil is down to 16,880 VND per kilogram.

Thus, domestic gasoline prices have seen their fourth consecutive day of decline. Since the beginning of the year, gasoline prices have increased 16 times and decreased 14 times. Diesel prices have increased 14 times and decreased 16 times. Year-to-date, each liter of RON 95 gasoline has increased by 690 VND, while diesel has increased by 510 VND.

Explaining the reason for the price reduction, the regulatory agency stated that the global oil market during this price adjustment period (from July 25th to July 31st) was affected by several factors.

The operator cited new developments in the conflict in the Middle East; declining US crude oil reserves; a downward trend in Chinese oil demand; and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine…

"The aforementioned factors have caused world oil prices to fluctuate, rising and falling in recent days, but the trend has been predominantly downward," the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated.

In addition, the average price of refined petroleum products in the world between the two price adjustment periods was 89.9 USD/barrel for RON 92 gasoline used to blend E5 RON 92 gasoline (a decrease of 1.274 USD/barrel, equivalent to a 1.4% decrease compared to the previous period); RON 95 gasoline was 94.2 USD/barrel (a decrease of 1.4 USD/barrel, equivalent to a 1.46% decrease compared to the previous period).

Similar to the previous price adjustment period, this time the inter-ministerial committee did not allocate or utilize funds from the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund for fuel products. This is the 41st period, since October 2023, that the authorities have not used the Price Stabilization Fund. As of the end of 2023, this fund had a surplus of over 6,655 billion VND, according to data from the Ministry of Finance .

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/tai-sao-gia-xang-giam-4-ky-lien-tiep-1374904.ldo