State-owned Petrolimex, Vietnam’s leading fuel importer and distributor, increased the price of 92-octane gasoline by 11 percent to VND19,230 (US$0.96) per liter Tuesday night.

It was the biggest-ever hike in the price of the popular variety in four years.

The price of 95 RON was increased by 10.9 percent to VND19,830.

The price of diesel, both with 0.05 and 0.02 percent sulfur content, remained unchanged.

Kerosene was slightly down to VND15,810.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, which approved the increases, said they reflected the uptrend of global oil prices, which have caused losses to domestic distributors.

Authorities said they had asked gasoline retailers not adjust to the fuel prices before 9 p.m. May 6.