In July alone, the country bought 651,000 tons of fuels worth US$736 million, up 5.4% in volume but down 9.4% in value month-on-month as the global fuel prices edged down, reported VnExpress news site.

Between January and July, the country’s fuel imports rose by 14.5% in volume and by over US$3.1 billion in value against the same period last year at 5.4 million tons and US$5.73 billion.

Diesel oil was the most imported product. Local fuel importers had bought over 3.17 million tons of diesel oil as of August 15, accounting for almost 60% of the total fuel imports.

South Korea remained the biggest supplier of fuel products to Vietnam, at 2.17 million tons in the first seven months of the year, soaring 92% year-on-year. Malaysia and Singapore came next with the respective volume of 815,000 tons and 753,000 tons.

Vietnam and many countries around the world have struggled with fuel price hikes so far. In addition, the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC cutting the output of its refinery in January this year led to a partial shortfall of fuels in the country. To cope with the issue, the Ministry of Industry and Trade then asked local fuel wholesalers to increase their fuel imports of some 2.4 million cubic meters in the second quarter of the year.

Since the beginning of the year to date, domestic fuel retail prices have been adjusted 21 times, with 13 up and seven down. From July, oil and petrol prices in the local market have fallen five times in a row.

During the latest fuel price adjustment yesterday, August 22, the domestic retail prices of gasoline products were kept unchanged at VND24,660 for each liter of RON 95-III and VND23,720 per liter of bio-fuel E5 RON 92.

Meanwhile, oil products, except heavy fuel oil, edged up by VND730-850 per liter.

Source: Saigon Times