The Ministry of Finance (MoF) must apply measures to curb year-on-year inflation in 2018 at below 3.7-3.9 percent, said Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue. 

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the meeting of the Ministry of Finance on July 18

Speaking at a MoF meeting in Hanoi on July 18 – on reviewing the State budget in the first half of this year and setting forth tasks for the remaining months – the official stressed the need to closely monitor the prices of essential goods, especially during the time natural disasters and floods. 

Hue, who is also head of the Government’s Steering Committee on Price Management, urged relevant agencies to take the initiative in price management, especially those prices of goods under State management. 

According to the MoF’s Department of Price Management, over the past two months, domestic prices were greatly affected by the global rise in oil and gas prices, as well as regional rises in rice and pork prices. 

Given this context, the ministry proposed some specific measures to stabilise the market and control inflation. 

The timely implementation of social welfare policies have helped raise pubic confidence in the leadership of the Party and the Government, said Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung. 

The Price Management Department said there are potential risks to the consumer price index (CPI) for the last six months of this year, calling for cautious steps in price management and inflation control. 

The MoF will continue its close coordination with other ministries and agencies in implementing the Government’s guidelines on inflation control, as well as instructions from the Steering Committee on Price Management. 

More attention will be paid to goods and services whose prices are decided by the State, or those purchased from the State budget, national stockpiled products, and goods and services for public interests. 

Any violations should be punished strictly in line with legal regulations and every effort to hike prices irrationally should be prevented, heard the meeting. 

The ministry will also join hands with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture and Rural Development to manage the prices of oil and gas, and farm produce for the time to come. 

At the meeting, the MoF also reported that between January and June, it conducted 22 inspections and proposed financial settlements totaling 1.91 trillion VND (82.13 million USD). -VNA