By Khanh Vu, Reuters
HANOI, Oct 7 (Reuters) – The rise in annual inflation in September has put pressure on Vietnam’s monetary policy management for the rest of this year but prices remain under control, central bank deputy governor Pham Thanh Ha said on Wednesday.
Vietnam’s annual inflation in September was 5.08%, compared with 4.89% in August, according to data from the statistics office.
“This is the highest reading in several years, putting huge pressure on managing prices and controlling inflation during the rest of the year,” Ha told a regular press conference in Hanoi.
Ha said recent interest rate hikes by central banks, including the Fed, has also put pressure on emerging and developing economies, including Vietnam.
Export-reliant Vietnam has faced higher prices for imported fuels this year due to the Iran war.
Total bank lending as of September 30 had risen 11.59% from the end of last year, and was up 16.69% from a year earlier, Ha said.
The country has a target of keeping inflation at 4.5% this year.
Vietnam reported gross domestic product growth of 9.95% in the third quarter, and its fourth quarter growth must be higher than 12% for the country to meet its full-year growth target of at least 10%, the head of the central bank’s monetary policy department, Pham Chi Quang, told the same conference.
The central bank said it will pursue flexible monetary policy for the rest of the year, striking a balance between keeping inflation under control and supporting economic growth.
It will boost lending to business and manufacturing projects while tightening control over lending to risky sectors, it said.—Reuters
