Published Date: 15/05/2015
CPI continued to inch up in April as expected due to the domestic fuel and electricity price hikes. Manufacturing conditions improved significantly in April with a PMI of 53.5, the highest since 2011. PMI has stayed above 50 in 20 straight months. During April and the first week of May, the VND/USD exchange rate surged. In response, the SBV had raised the interbank rate by 1% from May 7th. Following the move, the exchange rate inched up and fluctuated at a new level.· April’s CPI rose by 0.14% mom and 0.99% y/y, mainly attributable to sharp increases in transportation, housing and building materials costs;
· The Manufacturing PMI surged from 50.7 in Mar to 53.5 in April. The PMI is expected to improve further in May, as manufacturing activities usually take up some pace in Quarter 2;
· Imports outgrew exports in the first 4 months of the year, resulting in a trade deficit of about USD3 billion. This is considered one of the factors that recently created pressures on the VND/USD exchange rate to go up;
· Registered FDI dropped by 23.3% YoY as lacking big size projects while disbursed FDI surged stably in the first four months in 2015;
· During April and the first week of May, the VND/USD exchange rate surged. In response, the SBV had raised the interbank rate by 1% from May 7th;
· The SBV net injected money slightly via bills and repos in April to support banking liquidity;
· Bond market remained gloomy in April. Bond demand stood low and bond interest rates rose slightly compared to the end of March.
VietNamOutlookMay 2015.pdf
