Vietnam Fuel Prices: E10 RON95 Falls 1,810 VND as Petrolimex, PVOIL Cut Below Ceiling

Overview

Vietnam’s joint Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Finance cut retail E10 RON95-III by 1,810 VND to 25,210 VND per liter and E5 RON92 by 1,610 VND to 25,360 VND per liter at the 15:00 adjustment on 21 October, while diesel rose 450 VND to 29,550 VND per liter. The move directly affects Petrolimex (HOSE: PLX) and PVOIL (HOSE: OIL), which are again selling 300-350 VND below the regulated ceiling, and coincides with a Prime Ministerial deadline to finalize a new fuel trading decree before 10 November.

Key Facts

• E10 RON95-III fell 1,810 VND to 25,210 VND per liter; E5 RON92 fell 1,610 VND to 25,360 VND per liter.
• Diesel rose 450 VND to 29,550 VND per liter; mazut increased to 23,370 VND per kilogram.
• Over the trailing seven days, RON95 feedstock for E10 blending fell 8.4% to USD 133.5 per barrel, diesel rose 1.8% to USD 168 per barrel, and mazut gained 3.7% to USD 800.6 per tonne.
• The operators set aside 300 VND per liter for the price stabilization fund on biofuel gasoline and suspended fund usage for other products.
• Petrolimex and PVOIL priced E10 RON95-III at roughly 24,860-24,910 VND per liter and E5 RON92 at 25,010-25,060 VND, holding through 29 October.
• At the prior 15 October adjustment, 14 wholesalers sold 300-350 VND below the base price, with PVOIL, Long Hưng and Trường An at 350 VND and Petrolimex plus 10 others at 300 VND.
• On 21 October the Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to submit a draft decree on fuel trading to the government before 10 November; the draft has taken over two years and 14 versions.

What Happened

The adjustment followed the joint ministries’ seven-day world price cycle, in which the RON95 feedstock used to blend E10 RON95 fell 8.4% to USD 133.5 per barrel while diesel rose 1.8% to USD 168 per barrel and mazut climbed 3.7% to USD 800.6 per tonne. Under the framework, retailers may not sell above the ceiling; Petrolimex and PVOIL nonetheless chose to discount 300-350 VND per liter below it, a practice 14 wholesalers also followed at the 15 October adjustment.

Separately, the Prime Minister on 21 October ordered the Ministry of Industry and Trade to complete and submit a new decree on fuel trading before 10 November. The draft, now in its 14th version after more than two years of consultation, would reduce the number of wholesale traders on a phased schedule, strengthen sourcing and reserve capacity, cut unnecessary intermediaries and circular trading, and shift pricing toward a market mechanism with state oversight. Under the proposal, the state would stop publishing periodic base prices, leaving wholesalers and distributors to set retail prices under a prescribed formula with declarations filed for regulatory inspection.

Market Context

PLX on HOSE closed at 36.0 on 22 October, up 1.71% on volume of 1,511,400 shares, while OIL closed at 13,100 on 21 October. The divergence between falling gasoline and rising diesel prices matters for the product mix at both wholesalers, since diesel and mazut carry different margin structures than biofuel gasoline. The wider Vietnamese market has been sensitive to energy input costs, and the pending decree is the sector’s dominant policy catalyst.

Strategic Significance

The core issue for PLX and OIL is not the direction of pump prices but the mechanism that sets them. A decree that removes published base prices and devolves pricing to wholesalers could widen discretionary margin, but only for operators with scale, storage and direct import capability. The simultaneous push to cut intermediary traders and circular trading favors integrated names such as Petrolimex and PVOIL while raising compliance and declaration costs. Sustained discounting below the ceiling signals competitive pressure on retail volume, which limits the margin benefit of any pricing liberalization in the near term.

What to Watch

• Publication of the draft fuel trading decree before the 10 November deadline and its final provisions on base prices and trader licensing.
• The next joint ministry price adjustment and whether Petrolimex and PVOIL continue discounting below the ceiling.
• Q3 earnings disclosures from PLX and OIL, including retail volume and inventory valuation effects.
• Diesel and mazut price trends, given their divergence from gasoline in this cycle.
• Any foreign-ownership or major shareholder filings at Petrolimex and PVOIL tied to the sector restructuring.