AIRLINK 204.45 Increased By ▲ 3.55 (1.77%)
BOP 10.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.59%)
CNERGY 6.91 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.44%)
FCCL 34.83 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.17%)
FFL 17.21 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.35%)
FLYNG 24.52 Increased By ▲ 0.48 (2%)
HUBC 137.40 Increased By ▲ 5.70 (4.33%)
HUMNL 13.82 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.44%)
KEL 4.91 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (2.08%)
KOSM 6.70 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
MLCF 44.31 Increased By ▲ 0.98 (2.26%)
OGDC 221.91 Increased By ▲ 3.16 (1.44%)
PACE 7.09 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.58%)
PAEL 42.97 Increased By ▲ 1.43 (3.44%)
PIAHCLA 17.08 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.06%)
PIBTL 8.59 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.69%)
POWER 9.02 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.99%)
PPL 190.60 Increased By ▲ 3.48 (1.86%)
PRL 43.04 Increased By ▲ 0.98 (2.33%)
PTC 25.04 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.2%)
SEARL 106.41 Increased By ▲ 6.11 (6.09%)
SILK 1.02 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.99%)
SSGC 42.91 Increased By ▲ 0.58 (1.37%)
SYM 18.31 Increased By ▲ 0.33 (1.84%)
TELE 9.14 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.33%)
TPLP 13.11 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (1.39%)
TRG 68.13 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-0.32%)
WAVESAPP 10.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.49%)
WTL 1.87 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.54%)
YOUW 4.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.97%)
BR100 12,137 Increased By 188.4 (1.58%)
BR30 37,146 Increased By 778.3 (2.14%)
KSE100 115,272 Increased By 1435.3 (1.26%)
KSE30 36,311 Increased By 549.3 (1.54%)

HANOI: Vietnam’s annual inflation rate edged up to 4.44% in May, official data showed on Wednesday, nearing the government’s target ceiling of 4.5% for the year and a potential challenge to efforts to boost credit growth to drive activity.

The Southeast Asian country, a regional industrial hub, also reported strong growth in exports and industrial output in the month, but rising inflation could be a concern for authorities.

Consumer prices had risen 4.4% in April from a year earlier, and rose 3.25% in 2023. Vietnam is targeting economic growth of 6.0%-6.5% this year, faster than an expansion of 5.05% last year.

The central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam, is aiming for credit growth of 15% to help meet the growth goal, but banks have struggled to increase their lending this year.

Banks’ total outstanding loans as of May 10 had risen 1.95% from the end of last year, state media cited the central bank as saying on Tuesday.

Oxford Economics said on Wednesday it expected exports to continue to grow solidly, but the boost to GDP would likely be limited.

Brokerage houses see Pakistan’s headline inflation falling below 14% in May

“Interest rates in Vietnam’s largest importer, the US, are likely to stay higher for longer and the overall global external outlook is soft,” Oxford Economics said.

“We expect 2024 GDP growth to miss the 6.0-6.5% target,” it added.

Other data released by the General Statistics Office (GSO) on Wednesday showed exports are estimated to have risen 15.8% in May from a year earlier to $32.81 billion, led by shipments of electronics and smartphones Imports in the month are estimated to have grown an annual 29.9% to $33.81 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1 billion for May, the GSO said.

Shipments of smartphones in May are estimated to have risen 50.6% from a year earlier to $4.4 billion, while electronics exports rose 31.5% to $5.9 billion.

Industrial output in the month rose an annual 8.9% and retail sales were up 9.5%, the GSO said.

Oxford Economics said it expected the central bank to keep its discount rate unchanged at 3% for the rest of the year, but added that “the key risk to the policy rate lies with the Vietnamese dong, which has depreciated against the US dollar by an estimated 4.4% year-to-date”.

Comments

Comments are closed.