Petrol falls by another 1,000 VND per litre

Hanoi (VNA) - Retail prices of A92 petrol and kerosene fell by 1,000 VND per litre on August 27 to 17,000 VND and 18,000 VND respectively, following a decision by the Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Finance.

This is the second time the ministries have cut petrol prices. The earlier
cut occurred on August 14, with A92 petrol dropping 1,000 VND per litre to
18,000 VND per litre.

The decisions were made in response to the decreasing prices of oil on the
global market.

The ministries set the decrease at 1,000 VND/litre so petrol distributors
could offset losses incurred in the first seven months of this year.

Do Huu Hao, deputy minister of industry and trade explained, "By the end of
July, importers had combined losses of 3 trillion VND (182 million USD) for
gasoline alone."

If oil prices range between 115-120 USD per barrel, and importers profit
over 1,000 VND per litre, it is expected they will make up their losses by
the year's end," Hao said.

Vietnam consumed around 15 million tonnes of oil and gasoline every
year, he said.

While world energy saving percentages hovered at around 30 percent,
Vietnam had implemented measures to save on only 10 percent of the country's
energy, said Hao.
The two ministries are considering a draft that would impose value
added tax on petrol, to raise consumer awareness about the limited resource.
It will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval.-Enditem