Vietnam: Petrol retail prices to increase in 2007

Retail prices of petrol and gas oil in Vietnam will be adjusted in line with world prices beginning in 2007, as the state will no longer subsidize imports, the government said. It is expected that retail prices of petrol and gas oil will regularly increase if crude oil prices continue to rise in 2007. According to the Ministry of Trade, prices of imported petrol and gas oil increased by 21%, from US$438 to US$530 per ton, in 2006. (December 27, 2006)