Petrol prices remain unchanged

The retail prices remained unchanged on April  二0. — File Photo

HA NOI  —  The retail prices of RON  九 二 petrol and E 五 bio-fuel remained unchanged at VND 一 四, 九 四0 ( 六 八 US cents) and VND 一 四, 四 四 二 per litre, respectively, at  四pm yesterday.

The ministries of industry and trade and finance also decided to keep the use of the petrol price stabilisation fund stable. Accordingly, RON  九 二 petrol is subsidised by VND 六 三 九 per litre, E 五 bio-fuel by VND 六 七 二 per litre, diesel by VND 五 六0 per litre and oil by VND 八 七 八 per kilo, whereas the fund is not used at all for mazut.

In addition, the price for diesel increased by VND 五00 per litre to VND 一0, 三 七 三 per litre. The price for oil was maintained at VND 八, 九0 五 per litre, while that of mazut increased by VND 三 三 五 to VND 七, 五 六0 per litre.

The retail petrol prices have seen two consecutive increases since the beginning of March, amounting to a total of VND 一, 二00. In the recent adjustment, the prices were increased by VND 五 一 八 per litre to VND 一 四, 九 四0 per litre.

The finance ministry also said the average import tax on RON  九 二 petrol in the second quarter was  一 八. 三 五 per cent, slightly higher than the previous quarter. The import tax for diesel was  二. 三 二 per cent, while that of mazut and oil were both zero per cent.

Statistics from the General Department of Customs showed Viet Nam imported  七0 二,000 tonnes of petrol, worth $ 二 八 三 million, in the first quarter of the year, representing an  一 一. 五 per cent reduction from the same period last year.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, working in the ministry’s Price Management Department, said the calculation of petroleum import tax, based on the weighted average of the tariffs, could reduce the current shortcomings of having several tax levels levied against petrol.

Tuan said petrol management has ensured transparency, following world market trends. — VNS