HANOI, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam announced another round of fuel price cuts on Thursday because of the continued decline of oil prices and uncertain global outlook, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement.
Gasoline prices fell around 6 percent to 21,000 Vietnamese dong (0.89 U.S. dollars) per liter for RON95 bio-fuel, and to 20,131 dong for E5 RON92, said the ministry.
Diesel prices dropped 3.29 percent to 17,653 dong per liter while kerosene dipped 3 percent to 17,972 dong.
The cut, effective from 3:00 p.m. local time, was made in line with a slowdown in international oil markets where crude prices have declined between 4 and 7 percent in the past 10 days, the ministry said.
The market regulators also raised concerns over global uncertainties such as the turmoil in the global banking system, global recession risks, the latest interest rate hike in the U.S., and recent output cuts by OPEC+ producers by 1.1 million barrels per day.
A string of fuel price cuts are expected to give some relief to consumers in Vietnam especially after the government raised the average retail electricity price by 3 percent last Thursday in a move that could lead to higher inflation.
Experts said a 3-percent price hike in energy might result in as much as a 1.099 percent rise in CPI in the short term and a 1.28 percent rise in the long term.
Vietnam's consumer price index in the first four months this year rose 3.84 percent from a year before due to higher school fees and housing costs as well as more expensive food prices, according to the General Statistics Office.
Vietnam is trying to keep the consumer price index close to the target of 4.5 percent for the year. (1 U.S. dollar equals 23,632 Vietnamese dong) ■
