The Ministries of Industries and Trade and Finance set new caps for retail petrol prices on February 5, urging domestic dealers to enforce them from 3pm onwards.

The authorities said in a news release that the maximum prices have been fixed at 15,686 VND (0.75 USD) per litre for RON 92 gasoline and 15,183 VND (0.72 USD) per litre for 0.05S diesel, based on the global petrol price developments over the last fortnight.

They also stipulated limits of 15,623 VND (0.74 USD) per litre for kerosene, 11,861 VND (0.56 USD) per kilogramme for 180CST 3.5S mazut, and 15,356 VND (0.73 USD) per litre for biofuel E5 gasoline.

The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) announced that it has made adjustments in time, slashing the price for a litre of E5 by 320 VND to 15,350 VND. The prices of other products will remain unchanged, it added.

Domestically, the base price for diesel has slid 0.1 percent during the last fortnight, while the base prices have risen 3.3 percent for gasoline, 2 percent for kerosene and 5 percent for mazut, according to the ministries.

The base price is typically calculated, based on the import prices plus taxes, costs and profit quotas for fuel dealers.

The authorities have also allocated new quotas for enterprises by establishing price stabilisation funds on February 5. Dealers must now extract 340 VND per litre for gasoline, 520 VND per litre for kerosene and 270 VND per litre for mazut for the stabilisation reserves, or all for 800 VND.

They are to extract 820 VND per litre for diesel, or 20 dong higher than the previous level.

Retail prices for petrol have been cut twice this year in the context of global oil prices experiencing continuing declines.-VNA