Oil slump costs VN $2.5b in export losses this year
Oil slump costs VN $2.5b in export losses this year
The country's crude oil export value had fallen sharply by nearly US$2.5 billion in January-August 15 due to the slumping oil price globally, according to the General Department of Customs.
During the period, the country exported more than 5.7 million metric tonnes of crude oil, fetching more than $2.56 billion, much below the level for the same period last year when it earned more than $5.04 billion from shipment of 5.9 million metric tonnes.
According to Reuters, US oil prices in the global market traded below $40 a barrel, ending 2 per cent lower last Friday on signs of US oversupply and weak Chinese manufacturing, and notching the longest weekly losing streak in almost three decades. US crude last Friday dipped below the $40 threshold for the first time since the 2009 financial crisis.
Brent oil also ended $1.16, or 2.5 per cent, lower at $45.46 a barrel. It hit a low of $45.07 and threatened to break below $45 a barrel for the first time since March 2009, Reuters reported.
According to experts, the oil price drop will help boost the country's production and manufacturing sector, and increase GDP significantly.
Deputy director of the Ministry of Finance's Institute of Economics and Finance, Nguyen Duc Do, said the domestic production would benefit from the fuel price drop as it contributed to cutting input costs.
Economist Bui Trinh also estimated that a 20 per cent fuel price drop would help cut roughly 0.8 per cent of input costs in the first stage and another 0.3-0.5 per cent in the next stage.
The falling oil prices will also enable the country to keep inflation within control and stabilise the macro-economy.
Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh estimated that if oil price in the domestic market reduced by roughly 10 per cent, local consumer price index would drop by roughly 0.55 per cent and GDP may increase by 0.91 per cent.
Viet Nam's inflation in the first eight months of this year rose only 0.83 per cent from the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.
However, the fuel price drop would cause a negative impact on the country's State budget as the collection from crude oil contributes significantly to the budget.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, if crude oil price hovers at $40 per barrel, the State budget will lost roughly VND11.5 trillion ($510 million).
