Specifically, Brent oil price increased by 1.55 USD, equivalent to 1.8%, to 86.85 USD/barrel; US WTI oil price increased by 1.68 USD, equivalent to 2.1%, to 82.72 USD/barrel.
On the supply side, Iraq - OPEC's second largest producer - said it will reduce crude oil exports to 3.3 million barrels/day in the coming months to compensate for OPEC+'s exceeding the quota since January. Iraq exported an average of 3.43 million barrels/day in February.
In addition, rising oil prices in the context of Ukraine's military activities targeting Russia's energy infrastructure have caused serious damage to a number of refineries.
Reuters estimates that under the impact of drone attacks from Ukraine, Russia's oil refining capacity that will stop operating in the first quarter of 2024 could reach 4.6 million tons, or about 370,500 barrels/day. The fear of tight supply from Russia has boosted buying momentum in the oil market.
In addition, oil prices also received support from the demand outlook. Data from China's National Statistics Office said that the country's oil refining volume in the first two months of 2024 reached 118.76 million tons, equivalent to 14.45 million barrels/day, 3% higher than the same period last year.
The strong demand for transportation fuel during the Lunar New Year holiday in China has prompted refineries to increase operations.
Currently, investors are paying attention to the US Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting tomorrow to get more signals about when the agency will cut interest rates. Lower interest rates will stimulate demand in the US, thereby supporting oil prices.
Domestic retail prices of petroleum on March 19 are specifically as follows: E5 RON 92 gasoline is not more than VND 22,490/liter; RON 95-III gasoline is not more than VND 23,543/liter; diesel is not more than VND 20,549/liter; kerosene is not more than VND 20,706/liter; mazut is not more than VND 16,432/kg.
