World oil prices

At the end of the trading session on June 22, oil futures prices dropped by about 4%. According to Reuters , the decline in oil prices was strongly affected by the higher-than-expected interest rate hike of the Bank of England, which raised concerns about the economy and fuel demand, overshadowing the factor supporting oil prices from the decline in US crude oil reserves.

Gasoline prices drop dramatically after the Bank of England's decision to raise interest rates. Illustration photo: Reuters

Brent crude futures fell $2.98, or 3.9%, to $74.14 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $3.02, or 4.2%, to $69.51 a barrel.

The two oil benchmarks erased the previous session's gains as U.S. corn and soybean prices rose to multi-month highs on expectations that crop shortages could reduce biofuel blending and boost oil demand.

Reuters reported. The Bank of England raised interest rates by half a percentage point, twice as much as expected, to 5%. The increase is aimed at combating high inflation. This is the bank's 13th consecutive rate hike.

In another development, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said two more interest rate hikes of 25 basis points each by the end of this year is "a pretty good prediction".

“We are locked in a trading range but prices are being held back by concerns about the economy,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.

On the supply side, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said US crude oil inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels last week to 463.3 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 300,000-barrel increase in a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline inventories rose by about 480,000 barrels to 221.4 million barrels, nearly five times the 100,000-barrel gain analysts expected in a Reuters poll. Along with the increase in gasoline stocks, distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, also rose by about 430,000 barrels to 114.3 million barrels.

Gasoline prices continued to decline into the trading session on June 23. Illustration photo: Reuters

"With the decline in crude and the very modest increase in refined product inventories, I thought we would get a better market response, but the crude and refined product markets are simply being affected by higher interest rates," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, commenting on the oil price action on June 22.

Investors are now waiting for Chinese factory activity data next week for a glimpse of the strength of the Chinese economy.

Oil prices could rise as a slight increase in US oil production and cuts in OPEC+ production quotas will limit supply in the coming months, an executive at US shale producer EOG Resources said.

Domestic gasoline prices

Domestic retail prices of gasoline on June 23 are as follows:

E5 RON 92 gasoline is not more than 20,878 VND/liter.

RON 95 gasoline is not more than 22,015 VND/liter.

Diesel oil not more than 18,174 VND/liter.

Kerosene not more than 17,956 VND/liter.

Fuel oil not exceeding 14,587 VND/kg.

The domestic gasoline prices mentioned above were adjusted at the price management session of the Ministry of Finance - Industry and Trade on the afternoon of June 21, with gasoline prices remaining unchanged, diesel and kerosene prices increasing slightly by less than 150 VND/liter, while mazut prices decreased by 132 VND/kg.

In this management period, the joint ministries decided to continue to reduce the allocation level of the Price Stabilization Fund for all petroleum products and continue not to spend the Price Stabilization Fund for all petroleum products.

Since the beginning of the year, gasoline prices have undergone 18 adjustments, of which 9 have increased, 6 have decreased, and 3 have remained unchanged.

MAI HUONG