Vietnamese motorists deal with record high gas prices as the state’s price stabilization fund remains untapped.
The Latest: Gas prices climbed at 3 p.m. on Oct. 8—the sixth straight increase since early September—pushing E10 RON 95-III gasoline to 28,254 đồng ($1.06) a liter.
- The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance declined to tap the national fuel price stabilization fund to cool consumer costs.
The Details: In a joint pricing notice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance stated that the “the world fuel market in this pricing period was affected by many factors.” It then listed a string of reasons:
- Stalled U.S.-Iran negotiations
- China’s suspension of oil product exports
- The European Union’s release of diesel reserves
- Falling U.S. fuel inventories
- Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi forces
- The continuing Russia-Ukraine war, including attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure
From early September through the Oct. 8 adjustment, E5 RON 92 gas rose about 5,220 đồng per liter, while E10 RON 95-III surged by nearly 5,000 đồng a liter.
The pricing notice offered no explanation as to why the stabilization reserve remained untouched during the largest price jump of this cycle.
Fund Stagnation: The two ministries spent nothing from the fuel price stabilization fund on any product in the Oct. 8 adjustment.
- They instead added 200 đồng a liter to the fund from diesel, the only product whose price fell, according to VnExpress.
The fund also went unused in the second quarter of 2026.
- Data released by the Ministry of Finance on Sept. 22 show the fund’s total balance grew from more than 195.05 billion đồng at the start of the quarter to more than 196.28 billion đồng at the end, driven mostly from interest.
- For the entire quarter, the fund recorded “no contributions or spending.”
What the Law States: Legally, no price threshold automatically forces the ministries to spend the fund.
- Clause 3, Article 2 of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular 103/2021 states that contributions to and spending from the fund follow each pricing notice; the ministries can choose not to spend it, even after repeated increases.
Additionally, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Circular 50/2025, gas stations nationwide had to switch to selling E10 starting June 1.
- The switch to E10 has left many people worried about whether the biofuel works with farm machinery and other vehicles.
Why It Matters: Several international reports state that Việt Nam relies heavily on crude oil from the Gulf, leaving its supply exposed when the region faces geopolitical issues.
The Gulf supplies 88% of Việt Nam’s crude oil imports, according to a report by Maybank Investment Bank—the second-highest share in ASEAN, after the Philippines at 95%.
- By comparison, the share stands at 69% for Malaysia, 59% for Thailand, 52% for Singapore, and 20% for Indonesia.
Furthermore, Việt Nam imports more than 80% of its crude oil from Kuwait, according to a separate article by Maythiwan Kiatgrajai published April 3 on CASE for Southeast Asia.
- In Thailand, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) co-implements the program.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on October 9, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
