Domestic petrol and oil retail prices rose on August 9 by 410 VND and 400 VND per litre, respectively, announced the Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation (Petrolimex), the largest fuel retailer in the country.

The prices of A95 and A92 petrol are now 16,900 VND and 16,400 VND a litre, while the prices of kerosene and diesel have risen to 15,100 VND and 14,700 VND.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of fuel oil dropped 310 VND to between 12,690 VND to 12,990 VND a litre.

Bui Ngoc Bao, chairman of Petrolimex, said fuel hikes reflect global price rises.

Retailers have offset their loses by boosting sales of other products, Bao said, adding that retailers have been incurring losses of 500 VND per litre of oil sold domestically.

The global crude oil price soared sharply on August 9 to 81.77 USD per barrel, which was blamed on comments by the Federal Open Market Committee hinting at possible measures to lift the US economy after meeting with the Federal Reserve.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance had asked retailers not to adjust fuel prices more than twice a month. It had also asked to be notified of price changes in an effort to control supply and demand./.