Petrol prices in Vietnam spike for 12th time this yr

HANOI: Petrol prices in Vietnam have set another new record after being spiked for the 12th time this year.

This is the third time that fuel prices have increased in the country this month, reports Xinhua news agency.

From Tuesday, the price of RON95 bio-fuel per litre was raised by 498 Vietnamese dongs ($0.022) to a record-high of 32,873 Vietnamese dongs, reports Xinhua news agency.

The price of E5 RON92 petrol rose by 185 Vietnamese dongs and that of diesel oil went up by 999 Vietnamese dongs.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has put forward a proposal to increase the country's fuel reserve by as much as four times.

Currently, the country's entire reserve can only meet domestic demand for five to seven days, according to Le Viet Nga, deputy head of the ministry's domestic market department.

Despite rising global prices and stronger demand since the beginning of the year, Vietnam has not yet been forced to tap into its national reserve.

In order to control petrol prices and curb inflation, the Ministry of Finance has also proposed to cut environmental protection tax rates for petrol, oil and grease.