Vietnam seeks approval to slacken petroleum price hike

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance is seeking government approval to slacken petroleum price hikes to a minimum of 30 days instead of the current 10 days, state media reported, citing Deputy Minister Tran Van Hieu. The government, however, has not yet made any final decision, Hieu said, adding that petroleum traders must apply timely price cuts corresponding to the global price falls. Hieu’s move follows complaints by the state-owned Vietnam National Petroleum Corp. (Petrolimex), the country’s biggest petroleum trader, that it loses VND1,148 (US$0.06) per liter for gasoline A92, VND944 (US$0.05) per liter for diesel fuel with 0.05 maximum sulfur, VND952 (US$0.05) per liter for kerosene and VND334 (US$0.02) per liter for fuel oil with 3.5 maximum sulfur. (April 2, 2010)