Gasoline price increase of 10% causes GDP to decrease by 0.5%, CPI to increase by 0.36%

VCN - The domestic gasoline price is adjusted to increase for the 4th consecutive time which is inevitable when the rise of the world petroleum market directly affects the retail price of gasoline in the country. According to Prof. Nguyen Bich Lam, former Director General of the General Statistics Office, the increase in gasoline prices will put pressure on production and consumption in the last months of the year and have a strong impact on Vietnam's economic growth.
Prof. Nguyen Bich Lam, former Director General of the General Statistics Office
Prof. Nguyen Bich Lam, former Director General of the General Statistics Office

Could you please tell us the reasons that have influenced the increase of Vietnam’s gasoline prices in recent years? It is forecast that in the future, the price of gasoline will still fluctuate?

After basically controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, the world economy is facing strong increases in commodity prices, input material prices, especially gasoline prices due to the flourishing global economic activities, along with the rapidly increasing demand for gasoline, but oil production did not increase accordingly, leading to tight supply.

An important factor pushing up the price of oil is the fact that the alliance between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus and its allies (OPEC +) announced that it will keep its plan to increase production, instead of limiting production as called for by the major oil-consuming countries such as the US and India. Besides, the world is suffering from an energy crisis and the winter of 2021 is forecasted to be harsh and cold, so countries are increasing their petroleum reserves, causing oil prices to increase.

In the future, the world petroleum market may still fluctuate, the petrol price is likely to increase. The world's important energy forecasting organizations including OPEC, the International Energy Organization and the US Energy Information Administration all forecast that crude oil prices could reach $100/barrel in the summer of 2022.

As you have mentioned, the adjustment of petrol prices is mandatory in the face of the impacts of world petroleum prices, so how will this affect Vietnam's economy?

Vietnam's economy depends heavily on imported raw materials, with the proportion of the cost of imported materials in the total cost of raw materials of the whole economy reaching 37%. When the world gasoline price increases, it will increase the price of imported raw materials and domestic raw materials.

Therefore, along with the trend of world gasoline price fluctuations, in the first nine months of 2021, the domestic gasoline price was adjusted 16 times, making the average gasoline price in nine months increase by 24.1% over the same period last year. Previously, the consumer price index increased by 0.89%. In the production of goods and services, depending on the production process of each industry, it can be seen that most industries use petroleum. The cost of gasoline accounts for about 3.52% of the total production costs of the whole economy. This shows that petroleum accounts for a relatively high proportion and has a strong impact on the cost of manufacturing.

Notably, the increase in gasoline prices has a very strong impact on industries that use a lot of petroleum such as fishing, transporting goods and passengers by road, waterway and air.

Besides the direct impact of increasing product costs, the increase in gasoline prices also increases the prices of goods in circulation, putting more pressure on inflation, reducing the competitiveness of domestically produced goods, and negatively impacting economic growth. For the economy of our country, when gasoline prices increase by 10%, GDP will decrease by about 0.5% - a rather large decrease, reflecting the strong impact of gasoline price fluctuations on economic growth.

Notably, the increase in gasoline prices not only increases the cost of goods and services but also directly increases the consumer price index (CPI), affecting people's income and spending. An increase of 10% in petrol price makes CPI increase by 0.36%. Besides that, spending on petroleum accounts for 1.5% of total household consumption. When gasoline prices rise, households will restructure and partially cut spending, which reduces aggregate demand in the economy.

To ensure the growth rate in 2021 as well as the target in 2022 and control inflation in the future, what solutions do we need to implement, sir?

The 4th wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is the reason why Vietnam's economic growth in 2021 is forecast to reach a much lower level than the plan. The year 2022 is also an important year, creating the foundation for the implementation of the goals of the Five-Year Plan 2021-2025. At the opening session of the 2nd session of the 15th National Assembly, the Government proposed a socio-economic development plan in 2022, in which the growth rate of the gross domestic product would reach about 6-6.5%; the average CPI growth rate would be about 4%.

In order to successfully implement the socio-economic development goals in 2022 in the context of forecasting the international and domestic situation, advantages and challenges are intertwined. For example, the world economic growth is not stable and is forecast to be lower than 2021, the risks continue to increase; the resilience and resources of the State, businesses and people have decreased, and inflation pressure has been high.

Therefore, when developing a scenario of GDP growth and inflation target of 4% quarterly and for the whole of 2022 as a basis for providing appropriate and flexible management solutions. Besides the factors such as public investment capital, fiscal and monetary policies, petrol price fluctuations need to pay attention to minimize negative impacts on growth and inflation. Because for Vietnam's economy, petroleum is one of the strategic goods, the selling price is managed on the basis of ensuring the interests between the state, businesses and people.

Thus, given the importance of petroleum for production and consumption in the economy, it is forecast that gasoline prices may continue to increase in the remaining months of 2021 and the first half of 2022. Accordingly, The Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance and businesses need to keep abreast of developments in the petroleum market, the world political situation affecting petroleum supply in order to have solutions to tackle high oil prices to minimize the negative impact on growth and inflation in the remaining months of 2021 and 2022.

By Xuân Thảo/Thanh Thuy

Related News

Spacious room to control inflation target

Spacious room to control inflation target

VCN - According to Ms. Nguyen Thu Oanh, Director of the Price Statistics Department (General Statistics Office), Vietnam's inflation in the first 9 months has been under control at an appropriate level to support economic growth, showing that the possibility of inflation for the whole year will reach the target set by the National Assembly.
The economy can achieve the GDP growth target of about 7 percent

The economy can achieve the GDP growth target of about 7 percent

VCN - According to Nguyen Thi Huong, Director General of the General Statistics Office, to achieve the economic growth target in 2024, macroeconomic stability will be an important foundation and it is necessary to continue to maintain exchange rate stability, control inflation, and ensure major balances of the economy.
The insurance industry is expected to grow by 10 percent in 2024

The insurance industry is expected to grow by 10 percent in 2024

VCN - Despite many difficulties, thanks to timely instructions from regulatory agencies, the introduction of the Insurance Business Law (2023) along with guiding decrees and circulars and the efforts of businesses, the insurance industry is still making significant progress, expected to grow from 5-10 percent in 2024.
Vietnam

Vietnam's GDP in 2024 could achieve nearly 7% growth

VCN - According to Nguyen Anh Duong, Head of the General Research Department at the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), Vietnam achieved significant socio-economic results in the first half of the year. Based on these outcomes, CIEM has developed two macroeconomic forecast scenarios for 2024.

Latest News

State President welcomes top legislator of Cuba

State President welcomes top legislator of Cuba

State President Luong Cuong met with Politburo member, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power, and President of the Council of State of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernandez in Hanoi on November 2.
Remove "bottlenecks" for economic breakthrough

Remove "bottlenecks" for economic breakthrough

VCN - In recent articles and speeches, General Secretary and President To Lam has repeatedly mentioned that the country is facing a new era of national growth. General Secretary and President To Lam also requested that the “bottlenecks” of the economy must be quickly removed, creating innovation and breakthroughs to complete the set tasks.
Int’l organisations, experts remain optimistic about Vietnam's economic outlook

Int’l organisations, experts remain optimistic about Vietnam's economic outlook

International organisations and experts have made positive comments on the Vietnamese economy, affirming their optimism about Vietnam's economic outlook.
Party chief clarifies major issues on new era of nation

Party chief clarifies major issues on new era of nation

Prof. Dr. To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s Central Committee on October 31 had a discussion with participants of a training course for officials planned for the 14th Party Central Committee, focusing on a number of issues on a new era – the era of the nation’s rise.

More News

Vietnam, others call on US to immediately end embargo against Cuba

Vietnam, others call on US to immediately end embargo against Cuba

Vietnam calls on the US to immediately end its embargo against and remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, moving towards normalising relations between the two countries based on equality, mutual respect, and respect for each other's national sovereignty and political independence, stated Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN.
Vietnam

Vietnam's economy is recovering well

VCN - According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Viet, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), by the end of the third quarter of this year, Vietnam's economy had recovered relatively well amid optimism about the overall growth of the world economy in late 2024 and 2025.
“Carbon footprint” reduction needed for sustainable tourism development: insiders

“Carbon footprint” reduction needed for sustainable tourism development: insiders

Vietnam's tourism industry is making efforts to reduce its “carbon footprint” in pursuit of sustainability, focusing on developing “green tours”, upgrading transport infrastructure, and developing renewable energy-used vehicles, said insiders.
Concerted efforts underway to prevent IUU fishing

Concerted efforts underway to prevent IUU fishing

Vietnam is making thorough preparations to welcome the European Commission (EC)'s inspection delegation with the hope of having its “yellow card” on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing against the fisheries sector removed, thus boosting seafood exports to the EU market.
Vietnam needs to diversify supply chains for sustainable growth: economists

Vietnam needs to diversify supply chains for sustainable growth: economists

The diversification of global supply chains is creating significant opportunities for Vietnam to engage more deeply in international production networks. However, along with market expansion prospects, there are challenges posed by trade tensions, the reality of climate change accompanied by natural disasters, and the requirements for carbon emissions reduction, according to experts.
PM arrives in Abu Dhabi, beginning official visit to UAE

PM arrives in Abu Dhabi, beginning official visit to UAE

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi at 11 am on October 27 (local time), starting their official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the invitation of President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Big rebound forecast for southern industrial property market in 2025

Big rebound forecast for southern industrial property market in 2025

Despite a challenging 2024 marked by global economic uncertainties and regulatory changes, the industrial property market in the south is poised for a robust recovery in 2025, according to property consultancy Knight Frank.
Vietnams tourism likely to boom under "Six Countries, One Destination" visa initiative

Vietnams tourism likely to boom under "Six Countries, One Destination" visa initiative

A shared visa zone for the Southeast Asia region, similar to Europe’s Schengen visa mechanism, could be a game-changer Vietnam’s tourism sector needs. The proposed “Six Countries, One Destination” initiative aims to facilitate seamless travel across six neighboring countries, thus boosting regional tourism.
Vietnamese Prime Minister to visit UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia

Vietnamese Prime Minister to visit UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam will pay official visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, attend the 8th Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) and make a working trip to Saudi Arabia, from October 27 to November 2.
Read More

Your care

Latest Most read
State President welcomes top legislator of Cuba

State President welcomes top legislator of Cuba

State President Luong Cuong met with Politburo member, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power, and President of the Council of State of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernandez in Hanoi on November 2.
Remove "bottlenecks" for economic breakthrough

Remove "bottlenecks" for economic breakthrough

General Secretary and President To Lam requested that the “bottlenecks” of the economy must be quickly removed, creating innovation and breakthroughs to complete the set tasks.
Int’l organisations, experts remain optimistic about Vietnam's economic outlook

Int’l organisations, experts remain optimistic about Vietnam's economic outlook

International organisations and experts have made positive comments on the Vietnamese economy, affirming their optimism about Vietnam's economic outlook.
Party chief clarifies major issues on new era of nation

Party chief clarifies major issues on new era of nation

Prof. Dr. To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s Central Committee on October 31 had a discussion with participants of a training course for officials planned for the 14th Party Central Committee, focusing on a number of issues on a new era – the era of the nation’s rise.
Vietnam, others call on US to immediately end embargo against Cuba

Vietnam, others call on US to immediately end embargo against Cuba

Vietnam calls on the US to immediately end its embargo against and remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, moving towards normalising relations between the two countries based on equality, mutual respect, and respect for each other's national sovereignty and political independence, stated Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN.
Mobile Version