Business Briefing

Gold rate

At 9:15 am on May 16, SJC gold was bought at VND 68.5 million/ tael, and sold at VND 69.5 million/ tael, down VND 200,000/tael compared to the end of last week. Meanwhile, the price of gold jewelry dropped sharply to VND 54.15 million/ tael (buying) and VND 55.05 million/ tael (selling).

Photo: Vietnamnet

Reference exchange rate

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for the US dollar at VND 23,160/ USD on May 16, down VND 3 from the last working day of the previous week (May 13). With the current trading band of /-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is VND 23,854/USD, and the floor rate is VND 22,454/ USD.

The opening-hour rates at some commercial banks rose. At 8:30 am, BIDV added VND 5 to both rates, listing the buying rate at VND 22,955/USD (buying) and VND 23,235/USD (selling). Meanwhile, Vietcombank kept both rates unchanged at VND 22,920/USD (buying) and VND 23,230/USD (selling).

During the week from May 9-13, the daily reference exchange rate followed an upward trend for most of the day, except for Wednesday, and ended the week up VND 25.

Photo: Zing

Market news: Keeping CPI below 4 pct this year a challenge, says economist

It will be a challenge to keep Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth under 4 percent this year, according to an economist. Vietnam's CPI picked up 2.1 percent in the first four months of 2022, much higher than the same period last year’s 0.89 percent but still lower than that of 2017 (4.8 percent) and 2020 (4.9 percent), commented Dr. Tran Toan Thang, head of the Department of Industrial and Business Forecast at the National Centre of Economic Forecast and Information.

April CPI advanced 2.09 percent compared to December 2021 and 2.64 percent year-on-year as a result of an increase in prices of nine out of eleven commodities and services. Prices of transport services surged 16.59 percent last month, causing the overall CPI to gain 1.6 percentage points. As major economies like the EU, US, and the UK are seeing inflation climbing to record highs in decades, it still looks okay for Vietnam, he said.

However, he warned that with economic volatility still in sight until the end of 2022, it would be very challenging to maintain the CPI below 4 percent this year. Retail prices of fuel rose constantly in April despite a 50-percent cut on the environmental protection tax on petrol approved at the beginning of the month, Thang noted, according to VNA.

With the Russia-Ukraine conflict showing no signs of de-escalation and Western nations highly likely to continue imposing sanctions on Russia, rising fuel prices will hamper the efforts to control inflation. He also noted the impact of China’s “zero-Covid-19” policy which triggers a shortage of materials, causing prices of commodities to spur further.

To reduce the negative impacts of rising fuel prices, Thang suggested the government considers reducing special consumption, import, and value-added taxes. The most optimal solution is to slash import taxes and cut toll road fees by extending the payback period for BOT projects, he said, adding that a reduction in prices of transport services will result in a decrease in costs, slowing the CPI growth.

Photo: Vietnamnet

Weather Forecast

May 16 - May 17: It is forecasted that tonight and tomorrow, in the southern Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea, there will be showers and thunderstorms. The Gulf of Tonkin will experience strong northeasterly wind, rough seas, and waves with heights from 2.0-3.0m high.

From May 16, the north part of the South China Sea (including the Hoang Sa archipelago) and the part from Quang Tri to Quang Ngai will have strong northeasterly wind and rough waves.

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