The popular fuel RON95 increased by 5.78% compared to last Thursday to VND25,630 (US$0.99) per liter.

E5 RON92 added 5.86% to VND25,130. Diesel went up 5.12% to VND29,940.

Globally the oil markets in recent days have been affected by reports of escalating conflict in the Middle East between Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia, as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hike.

These factors pushed global fuel prices higher compared with the previous pricing period. RON95 rose 10.6% to $146.2 per barrel, while diesel increased 13.4% to $182.6.

Following the adjustment, global fuel prices are at their highest level since early April. Compared with the lows recorded in July after the conflict between the U.S. and Iran began, fuel prices have risen by about 28%-41%, depending on the product.

As of the beginning of this year, Vietnam had 33 petroleum wholesalers, including five companies that only trade aviation fuel and two producers, Nghi Son Refinery and Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical, the unit that manages and operates the Dung Quat refinery.

An employee refills a motorbike at a fuel station in Hanoi, March 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

The system also has 250 fuel distributors, a significant decline from about 330 in 2023, as many companies voluntarily returned their certificates or had them revoked following inspections and audits.

At a Sept. 11 meeting on amendments to the petroleum trading decree, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to review and redesign the distribution system with a focus on reducing intermediary layers and clearly separating the functions of supply from distribution and retail.

The new system needs to address the practice of fuel being bought and sold repeatedly between traders, which increases costs and makes it difficult to determine responsibility when supply shortages occur. The move aims to reorganize the system and ensure that the distribution and retail network has sufficient capacity.