The government of Vietnam expects to tame inflation absolutely below double digits this year as consumer prices in the first six months increased 2.68 per cent, economists said at a conference held in Hanoi recently.

“It is not difficult for the government to curb inflation at single digit levels this year; however, it should be cautious about adopting policies to prevent high inflation,” Vu Dinh Anh, Vice Dean of the Finance Academy’s Institute for Market Researching Science was quoted as saying by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The monetary and financial policies are being loosened but should be closely and tightly controlled in order to actively prevent inflation, Nguyen Duc Thang, deputy head of the Department of Trade, Services and Market Prices under the government’s General Statistics Office said.

The government should keep a close watch on prices of essential goods, including crude oil, petroleum products, construction steel, food and foodstuffs on the domestic and global markets and should have a roadmap for adjustments of their prices in order to avoid causing any shocks, Thang proposed.

Meanwhile, Phan Thanh Ha deputy head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Department for Monetary Policies proposed that the government tame inflation while pursuing two stimulus packages to spur economic growth.

Ha also requested that the government continue its short-term stimulus package and consider deadlines for its medium and long-term stimulus packages.

Professor Dinh Xuan Hang from the Finance Academy forecasts that inflation will be 7.5 per cent to 8 per cent this year, urging the government to boost transparency of its stimulus packages.

The State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, has just requested Vietinbank and Vietcombank to cap their credit growth at 25 per cent as part of its efforts to restrict the country’s credit growth at 25 per cent to 27 per cent.