Traders stock up on cooking gas
By Minh Tam - The Saigon Times Daily
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| A delivery man loads a gas container on truck. Gas traders are in a race to stock up on the fuel in anticipation of higher prices in August - Photo: Minh Tam |
HCMC – Cooking gas prices are forecast to pick up strongly next month, prompting traders to scale up their stockpiles.
Do Trung Thanh at the sales department of Saigon Petro told the Daily that cooking gas prices are predicted to rise by US$150 a ton in August. In response, sales agents are rushing to increase orders.
The sales manager of a gas trading company said his firm had sold out the volume bought from PV Gas a few days ago. Therefore, the company has to buy cooking gas on FOB terms, so the price is higher than in the contract.
According to representatives of several traders, there is a local undersupply now because Dung Quat Oil Refinery has not been running at full capacity since it resumed operation on July 19, while consumption is rising as gas prices have steadily dropped over the past few months.
A general sales agent in Danang told the Daily that he had learned of the possible gas price rise for August, so his firm had bought more gas from wholesalers and restricted supply for sales agents to increase its stockpile. Meanwhile, wholesalers do not sell the exact quantities that general agents order.
Wholesalers said that if the increase level of US$150 a ton was maintained until the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) quoted the August contract price, the local retail gas prices would tick up by around VND40,000 per 12-kilo container against July, or the common retail prices would range from VND355,000 to VND360,000 a container.