The Finance Ministry has officially allowed petroleum retailers to increase the price of petrol by 2,900 VND (roughly 0.14 USD) a litre from February 24.

The permission was included in the official document No.98/BTC-QLG, increasing the charges to 19,300 VND from 16,400 VND a litre.

The document also allowed increases of kerosene prices from 15,100 VND to 18,200 VND a litre and diesel prices from 2,110 VND to 14,800 VND a kg.

The decision was made under the pressure of world price hikes, which had pushed domestic petroleum importers to financial losses in recent days despite the Government’s efforts to reduce import tariffs and subsidise prices./.