Published Date: 09/03/2015
Even with the inclusion of the holiday break, February saw a CPI falling by 0.05% M/M and inching up only 0.34% Y/Y, owing to the fuel price cuts. However, CPI is expected to go up in the coming months due to increases in global oil prices and domestic electricity prices in March. Manufacturing kept improving as the PMI rose from 51.5 in January to 51.7 in February. Foreign exchange market remained stable.· Manufacturing improved over the last 18 months. The PMI inched up marginally from 51.5 in January to 51.7 in February. The PMI is expected to stay above 50 in 2015, though it might fall in March, under the influence of the Tet holidays;
· February’s import values dropped more sharply than exports, bringing a trade surplus of USD300 million;
· Total registered FDI in the first 2 months of the year reached USD1.19 billion, falling by 22.5% Y/Y. Disbursed FDI was estimated to be USD1.2 billion, rising by 7.1% Y/Y;
· The forex market remained stable. The VND/USD tended to go up slightly after Tet because of higher USD demand;
· The SBV kept net injecting money strongly via SBV bills and OMO in February to support banking liquidity, especially before Tet;
· Bond market remained active in February thanks to high amount of matured VGBs. Bond interest rates declined slightly compared to last month.
VietNamOutlookMar 2015.pdf
