The retail price of biofuel E5 - RON92 fell by VND1,030 to VND27,300 (US$1.20) per liter and RON95 by VND1,040 to VND28,150 ($1.23) per liter, respectively, from 0:00 am today [April 1].

A gas station in Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Hai

This marked the second consecutive decline after six rises in a row since the beginning of this year.

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, which coincided with the effective date of the 50% cut of environmental protection tax on petrol products.

Meanwhile, the price of kerosene went up by VND1,520 to VND23,760 ($1.04) per liter; diesel at VND25,080 ($1.10), or an increase of VND1,450; and mazut at VND20,920 ($0.91) per kilogram, a rise of VND500 per kg.

In this price review, the authorities have subsidized VND500 per liter for kerosene, VND100 for diesel, VND250 for RON95, and VND200 for E5-RON92 with finance from the Petrol Price stabilization fund.

The prices of petrol and oil products this time include the new rates of environmental protection tax which are  VND700-2,000 per liter less than the previous ones and become effective on April 1. However, even with the cut of such tax, the price reduction could not be drastic due to the rising prices on the global market, even when the two ministries decided to use the petrol stabilization fund to subsidize the prices and prevent them from skyrocketing.

“Without the use of the fund, the petrol and oil prices may go up by VND1,069-2,789 per liter,” noted the agencies.