A litre of A92 petrol is down to VND14,000 and A95 petrol to VND14,500.

The new selling price for a litre of diesel oil is VND13,000 and kerosene is VND14,500.

The Ministry of Finance announced on Friday that import taxes would be raised by 5 per cent for petrol and kerosene to 20 per cent. The tax is 15 per cent for diesel oil.

The new import tax rates will be applied starting November 11. This is the fifth time since early October the petroleum price has been adjusted, but is the first time for a VND1,000 decrease. Previously, the rate of decreases had only been VND500.

The world oil price hit a record high of $147.27 per barrel on July 11, while last Friday it was around $67. Importers said modest decreases in the oil price were justified, because of large losses incurred when prices reached record highs of around $140 per barrel.