Gasoline prices are expected to decrease slightly in the operating period tomorrow, March 7, 2024

Tomorrow (March 7) is the time to regulate retail gasoline prices according to Decree 80/2023 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 95 and Decree 83 of the Government on gasoline trading.

Domestic gasoline prices are being affected by world gasoline prices and the Singapore market.

Gasoline prices are expected to decrease slightly in the operating period tomorrow, March 7, 2024

In the world market, oil prices reversed to increase impressively last week after a sharp decrease the previous week. Overall, Brent oil prices increased by about 3.4% last week, WTI oil prices increased by 4.6%. However, this week, world oil prices tended to cool down. Oil prices fell consecutively in the first two trading sessions of the week.

According to data from Oilprice, at 6:30 a.m. on March 6 (Vietnam time), Brent oil price was trading at 82.04 USD/barrel, down 0.76 USD, equivalent to 0.92% compared to the previous session. Meanwhile, WTI oil price was at 78.24 USD/barrel, up 0.09 USD, equivalent to 0.12% compared to the previous session.

In the Singapore market, in the last period, the average price of finished gasoline in this market decreased compared to the previous period. But the decrease was not too large.

Although the OPEC+ alliance, which controls more than 40% of the global oil supply, has extended the current production cuts until the end of the second quarter of 2024, crude oil prices are still under downward pressure due to increasing market concerns that China will have difficulty achieving its 5% growth target this year.

For weeks, global investors have been expecting the Chinese government to announce large-scale stimulus plans, but so far there has been no clear signal. As a result, many investors are concerned that China will find it difficult to regain growth momentum soon, leading to lower-than-expected fuel demand. China is currently the main factor driving global fuel demand growth this year.

In addition, crude oil prices are also affected by the partial shift of capital flows from speculators to other markets that are proving more attractive, such as gold and cryptocurrencies, as the prices of these two assets continue to increase sharply.

However, the decline in crude oil prices has been restrained as the USD has cooled down compared to other major currencies in the world. At the same time, many financial institutions believe that OPEC+ member countries will need to keep Brent crude oil prices above the threshold of 80 USD/barrel to balance their budgets this year.

In the domestic market, based on the world oil price developments, leaders of some oil trading enterprises said that domestic oil prices in the management period tomorrow (March 7) may decrease following world prices.

Petroleum companies believe that if the regulatory agency does not use the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund, domestic gasoline prices could fall by 120-220 VND/liter. Diesel prices could fall by 270-320 VND/liter.

If the above forecast is correct, domestic gasoline prices will have their fourth decrease in 2024.

In case the Ministry of Industry and Trade - Ministry of Finance deducts from the Price Stabilization Fund, gasoline prices may decrease less, or even remain the same.

In the recent gasoline price adjustment on February 29, the retail gasoline price was adjusted up by the Ministry of Finance - Industry and Trade, while the oil price decreased. Specifically, the price of E5 gasoline increased by VND280/liter, the selling price was VND22,750/liter. The price of RON95 gasoline increased by VND330/liter, the price reached VND23,920/liter.

Diesel price decreased by 140 VND/liter, selling price down to 20,770 VND/liter. Kerosene price also decreased by 140 VND/liter, selling price down to 20,780 VND/liter.

In this operating period, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not set aside or spend the Price Stabilization Fund for most types of gasoline and oil, except for fuel oil, which cost 300 VND/liter.

Since the beginning of the year, gasoline prices have increased 7 times and decreased 3 times.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/gia-xang-dau-du-bao-giam-nhe-trong-ky-dieu-hanh-ngay-mai-732024-307081.html