Gasoline prices today October 28, 2024: Sharp decrease across the board
Oil prices today October 28, 2024: World crude oil prices fell sharply by 3 USD/barrel compared to the close of last week. The reason is believed to be that US crude oil reserves increased more than expected.
World oil prices
According to data from TradingEconomics and Oilprice, world crude oil prices opened the first trading session of this week on October 28, at 6:15 a.m. (Vietnam time), simultaneously decreasing by 3 USD/barrel, equivalent to a decrease of 4%.
Specifically, the selling price of WTI crude oil was at 68.7 USD/barrel, down 3 USD/barrel, or 4.2% compared to the opening session on October 26.
Similarly, Brent oil price was selling at 72.9 USD/barrel, down nearly 3.09 USD/barrel compared to the opening session on October 26, equivalent to a decrease of nearly 4%.
According to analysts, this sudden "slide" in oil prices is because Israel's retaliatory attack on Iran over the weekend did not target Tehran's oil and nuclear infrastructure and did not disrupt energy supplies in the Middle East.
Last week, oil prices recorded a weekly increase with Brent crude oil increasing 4%, WTI crude oil increasing 3.7%, recovering half of the "losses" of the previous week. The increase in oil prices was due to the conflict situation in the Middle East that has not shown any signs of easing, even at the risk of escalating.
In the past five trading sessions, oil prices have increased three times and decreased two times. Oil prices have climbed about 4% in the first two trading sessions of the week. The ongoing fighting in the Middle East has gradually reduced the hope of a ceasefire in the region, pushing oil prices up. In addition, some signs of improving demand from China, including the news that the East Asian country increased its crude oil import quota for 2025, have supported oil prices.
However, the dollar's continued rally to 106 for a fourth straight week, combined with a rise in U.S. oil inventories and efforts to restart ceasefire talks in Gaza, sent oil prices down nearly 2 percent in the following two sessions. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a build of 5.5 million barrels in U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Oct. 18, more than 20 times the increase analysts had expected and more than three times the increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute.
Oil prices once again refused to complete a hat-trick of gains in the final trading session of the week. Israel’s continued airstrikes and plans to attack Iran were supportive news for oil prices in this session, helping oil prices “pocket” more than 2%.
During the week, in addition to the conflict in the Middle East, investors will also be watching the core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index data, the US Central Bank's preferred inflation measure, for more evidence on the possibility of cutting interest rates in the US in the coming time. The market is still betting on the possibility that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates by 25 basis points two more times before the end of the year.
Domestic gasoline prices
At the joint session of the Ministry of Finance and Industry and Trade on October 24, domestic retail gasoline prices were adjusted with the following changes:
E5 RON 92 gasoline: Decreased by 38 VND/liter, not higher than 19,692 VND/liter.
RON 95 gasoline: Decreased by 68 VND/liter, not higher than 20,894 VND/liter.
Diesel: Down 264 VND/liter, down to 18,057 VND/liter.
Kerosene: Decrease by 57 VND/liter, not higher than 18,570 VND/liter.
Fuel oil: Increased by 139 VND/kg, new price not higher than 16,229 VND/kg.
This price is applied from 15:00 on October 24 and will remain until today, October 28, 2024.
Mr. Giang Chan Tay, Director of Boi Ngoc Company Limited in Tra Vinh, said that he and the petroleum retail business community have just sent many recommendations to the Prime Minister and relevant ministries and branches. The purpose is to find solutions to stabilize the petroleum market in the coming time.
According to Mr. Tay, the petroleum market has faced many instabilities in recent years. The reason is that the current Decree creates many incentives for key enterprises, leading to unfair competition. This causes retailers to continuously suffer losses, affecting the economy and reducing the State budget revenue.
He also emphasized that the current Decree and the draft amendments that the Ministry of Industry and Trade is seeking comments on have many provisions that are inconsistent with market rules and current laws, allowing key enterprises to control the entire supply chain from import to retail.
For the new Decree on petroleum to operate effectively, Mr. Tay proposed that the Government should separate key enterprises from the retail system, allowing stores to manage their own finances and legal matters.
The retail business community also requested that the new Decree must have clear regulations on the distribution of standard costs to them. In addition, there should be mechanisms and sanctions to prevent transfer pricing and speculation, and at the same time protect retail businesses when affected by low discount rates.
The petroleum retail business community also proposed allowing retail businesses and distributors to purchase petroleum from various sources, helping to regulate supply according to market rules.
