The retail price of biofuel E5 - RON92 increased by VND2,910 to VND28,980 (US$1.27) per liter and RON95 by VND2,990 to VND29,820 ($1.30) per liter, respectively, from 3:00 pm today [March 11].

Vietnam's petrol prices rise to an all-time high. Photo: The Hanoi Times

The move came following the latest 10-day review on petrol prices jointly conducted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on the same day.

The latest price adjustment marked the seventh hike in a row since mid-December 2021, bringing the prices of petrol products to above the previous peaks in July 2014 of VND26,140 per liter and closer to VND30,000 per liter.

The price of kerosene was posted at VND23,910 ($1.05) per liter, up nearly VND4,000; diesel at VND25,260 ($1.10), or an increase of VND3,950; and mazut at VND20,980 ($0.92) per kilogram, a rise of VND2,520 per kg.

This resulted in an increase of VND7,020 per liter for RON95 against last December, VND6,900 for E5-RON92, VND7,930 for diesel, VND7,590 for kerosene, and VND5,240 for mazut.

At present, taxes and fees account for 40-42% of the retail prices of petrol products. The Ministry of Finance has announced its plan to cut the environmental protection tax by half, or VND2,000 per liter, to prevent petrol prices from skyrocketing. The move is scheduled to take effect on April 1.

On the global market, prices of crude oil WTI decreased by $2.68 to $106.02 per barrel, and Brent by $1.81 to $109.33, following an announcement from the UAE ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, that the country wants to increase oil production and would encourage the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Country (OPEC) to do the same.