With the fees of some healthcare services decreasing and supplies of basic products increasing to meet consumption demands, there will be no significant overall change to commodity prices in the coming time. This was announced at a meeting on commodity prices in the January-June period and 2018 forecasts, held in Hanoi on July 3.

Customers are seen buying fruit in a supermarket in HCMC 

According to the Department of Price Management, factors constituting a price rise in the past few months are market-related and have seen little influence from the Government’s price management.

As data from the General Statistics Office reveal, the consumer price index (CPI) in the January-June period inched up by 0.37% per month on average. Inflation tended to rise too, going up from 2.65% early this year to a relative high of 4.67% compared to last June.

VietnamPlus quoted Dr. Nguyen Duc Do from the Institute of Economics and Finance as saying that the upward tendency of inflation in this year’s first half was no surprise as it had been forecast late last year.

Pork prices had dropped sharply in January-June 2017, so inflation in the same period of 2018 was expected to rise if the price of live pigs made a sharp turnaround, which has occured in reality. Rising fuel prices and fee adjustments in healthcare services in the first quarter also pushed up the CPI.

Concerns have arisen over the possibility of controlling inflation toward the year-end and keeping the average rate of inflation at 4% for the whole year as targeted.

Do predicts that the annualized inflation will rise to a peak high this month and then gradually fall to 4% in the final months of the year. As he explained, the Government had made considerable changes to healthcare fees toward the end of last year, and inflation will fall if healthcare fees remain unchanged until the end of this year.

He noted it was necessary to consider the fuel and pork prices. If these prices remain high or rise further, this year’s average inflation will stay at 3.4-3.9%.

Therefore, the target of keeping inflation below 4% is attainable, he added.

Economic expert Ngo Tri Long is optimistic, but he believes that an average CPI of less than 4% is a challenge. The inflation pressure in the year’s second half will be greater as the prices of crude oil and other commodities in the global market as well as the exchange rate are likely to rise, he said.

Nguyen Loc An, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Domestic Market, stressed that commodity prices would be affected by factors such as fluctuating fuel prices and potential wage hikes.

To stabilize prices in the rest of the year, he stated, it is essential to oversee market developments for basic products and to deal with problems arising from abnormal developments. In addition, there should be a program in place to stimulate the consumption of apparel and household products.

Long emphasized that major price increases in the past for products such as fuel, food and pork need to be reviewed, and these products should have a balanced demand and supply. He also recommended the proper use of the price stabilization fund to stabilize the market.

SGT