Brent oil price increased by 0.6% to 87.17 USD/barrel. US WTI oil prices increased by 0.9%, to 83.47 USD/barrel.
Since the beginning of the month, at least seven Russian refineries have been attacked by drones. According to Reuters calculations, these attacks have reduced Russia's refining capacity by 7%, equivalent to about 370,500 barrels/day.
StoneX energy analyst Alex Hodes said that attacks on Russian refineries could reduce global gasoline supply by about 350,000 barrels/day and push US crude oil prices up by another $3/barrel.
Meanwhile, even if the attacks do not lead to direct losses in Russian crude oil supply, they still have an impact on oil prices due to increased profit margins from refined products, according to SEB Research analyst Bjarne Schieldrop.
In addition, positive oil demand data in China and the US and the extension of OPEC+'s voluntary production cuts until the end of June have supported oil prices. According to this analyst, Brent oil prices may trade at 80 - 90 USD/barrel this year.
In addition, oil prices are also supported by data from the American Petroleum Institute, which said that US crude oil inventories in the week ended March 15 decreased by 1.519 million barrels; US gasoline inventories decreased by 1.574 million barrels, while distillate inventories increased by 512,000 barrels.
Domestically, tomorrow afternoon, retail prices of gasoline and oil will be adjusted at the price management session of the Ministry of Finance - Industry and Trade. Due to the increase in world oil prices last week, along with the increase in oil prices in recent days, domestic oil prices are expected to increase by about 200-500 VND/liter (kg).
Domestic retail prices of petroleum on March 20 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.
