Vietnam’s Commerce Ministry is urging companies to encourage employees to work from home to curb fuel consumption as the country grapples with supply disruptions and sharp price increases due to the US-Israeli war involving Iran.
In a statement on Tuesday, the government said Vietnam was among the countries worst affected by the unrest, due to its heavy dependence on energy imports from the Middle East. Citing a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it called on companies to “encourage home working where possible to reduce the need for travel and transportation.”
Fuel prices have soared since late last month, with gasoline up 32%, diesel up 56% and kerosene up 80%, according to data from Petrolimex, the country’s largest fuel trader. Long lines of cars and motorcycles were seen at gas stations in Hanoi on Tuesday.
The ministry also urged companies and private individuals not to hoard or speculate on fuel.
People line up to buy gasoline at a gas station after Vietnam’s Ministry of Commerce called on local businesses to encourage their employees to work from home to save fuel amid supply disruptions and price increases caused by the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 10, 2026. (REUTERS/Khanh Vu)
GAS PRICES COULD RISE AS MIDDLE EAST TENSION THREATENS GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY
Prime Minister Pham Minh Minh held talks on Monday with the leaders of Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to secure additional fuel and crude oil supplies. The government has also lifted import tariffs on fuels until the end of April in an attempt to ease pressure on the market.
President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran have created volatile crude markets, with US prices rising to $120 a barrel over the weekend before falling again to just over $80 on Monday evening, as Trump spoke before a Republican retreat in Florida.
Prices have stabilized after Trump assured investors that the Strait of Hormuz will be safe for oil tankers in the Middle East, a notorious chokepoint for the largely dismantled Iranian regime.
President Donald Trump addressed reporters aboard the Air Force last week as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth looked on. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
TRUMP RESTORES WORLD ENERGY MARKETS AND THE IRAN ATTACKS ACTUALLY HELP
“I don’t believe he can live in peace,” Trump said from Air Force One.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not release oil from the Middle East until US and Israeli attacks cease, a threat that prompted Trump to threaten to hit Iran “20 times harder” if it blocked exports.
US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC TURNS, BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED
Strikes against the Iranian leadership, the IRGC and Iranian naval vessels and oil infrastructure have roiled markets. (Sasan/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite defiant rhetoric from both sides, investors had placed strong bets on Tuesday that Trump would call off his war soon, before the unprecedented disruption it has caused to energy supplies triggers a global economic collapse.
“I hear they want to talk bad,” Trump said, as the War Department claimed that 50 Iranian Navy ships had been sunk and Trump suggested that the war appeals are weeks ahead of schedule, if not nearly “complete.”
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“It is possible,” Trump added, to bring in the new Iranian leadership, descendants of the deceased leaders, but said it “depends on the conditions, possible, only possible.”
“You know, we don’t really need to talk anymore, if you really think about it, but it is possible,” he said.
