Experts said that it would be difficult for Vietnam to reach the CPI target of 4% in 2017 set by the National Assembly when the country still faces many macro-economic challenges.

According to experts, prices of many products in Vietnam have tended to recover after falling sharply; while 27 cities and provinces have applied hospital fee increase.

Experts said that it would be difficult for Vietnam to reach the CPI target of 4% in 2017 

World petroleum prices are likely to rise in the first quarter of 2017 and are forecast to reach USD65 - 70 per barrel, up 9-15% against 2016.

Economist Dr. Ngo Tri Long said that to maintain inflation of 4% in 2017, the State Bank of Vietnam needs to apply flexible monetary policies. Furthermore, a close watch must be kept on global oil prices to prevent the domestic price from shooting up and affecting the 2017 CPI.

Vietnam’s 2016 inflation rate has been kept relatively low at 4.74% less than the estimated annual 5%, the General Statistics Office reported. The country reached GDP growth of 6.21% in 2016, lower than the country’s year target of 6.7%.

Vietnam has set a target of 6.7% GDP growth for 2017.