Gasoline price today November 18: Maintains sideways

World oil prices

This morning, November 18, world oil prices remained unchanged due to the combined impact of escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine over the weekend, along with concerns about fuel demand in China and forecasts of a global oil surplus.

At 9:00 a.m. (Vietnam time), Brent crude oil price reached 71.1 USD/barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price reached 67.02 USD/barrel. At the end of yesterday's trading session, both Brent crude oil price and WTI crude oil price were flat.

On November 16, Brent crude oil prices nearly hit a one-month low ($70.73/barrel in the session on October 30). Meanwhile, WTI crude oil prices fell to a one-month low.

According to Reuters, on November 17, the administration of President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use long-range weapons transferred by the US to attack targets deep inside Russian territory. The first attack could take place in the coming days, using ATACMS ballistic missiles with a maximum range of 300 km.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian upper house of parliament, warned against the US move. Andrei Klishas, ​​a senior member of the Federation Council, said the West had taken an escalation decision that "could lead to the complete collapse of the Ukrainian state the next day."

If confirmed, the policy would be a major shift, as the Biden administration has long refused to remove weapons from Ukraine for fear of escalating tensions, despite pleas from Ukrainian officials. Russia has warned that such a move would be a major escalation in the conflict.

The escalation of the conflict has provided some support for oil prices, albeit modestly, as weak economic data from China and the International Energy Agency's (IEA) forecast that global oil supply will exceed demand by more than 1 million barrels per day by 2025, even as OPEC+ continues to cut production, have put significant pressure on oil prices.

China's oil refinery output fell 4.6% in October from a year earlier and factory output growth slowed last month, the government said on November 15.

In the US, the number of active oil rigs fell by one to 478 last week.

Domestic gasoline prices

The Ministry of Industry and Trade - Ministry of Finance has just decided to adjust and reduce gasoline prices as follows:

RON 95-III gasoline decreased by 247 VND/liter, to 20,607 VND/liter.

E5 RON 92 gasoline decreased by 292 VND/liter, to 19,452 VND/liter.

Diesel oil decreased by 344 VND/liter, to 18,573 VND/liter.

Kerosene decreased by 306 VND/liter, to 18,988 VND/liter.

Fuel oil decreased by 385 VND/kg, to 16,099 VND/kg.

During this adjustment period, the management agency did not set aside or use the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund for petroleum products. Since the beginning of the year, gasoline prices have increased 21 times and decreased 24 times.

US tightens car fuel consumption standards

The US Department of Transportation's new standards require cars to be more fuel efficient by 2032. Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the standards will save car owners more than $600 on fuel and reduce pollution.

The new standard will save nearly 70 billion gallons of gasoline and prevent more than 782.6 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2050. Many environmental and health agencies in the US welcome the regulation.

However, some experts say the regulations are not as strict as the original draft. Mr. Dan Becker said the regulations needed to be stricter and the government gave in to pressure from automakers.

The standard is one of several measures to boost the US electric vehicle industry, including tax subsidies and incentives for electric vehicle buyers and manufacturers.