December: Higher Purchasing Power - Higher Product Price

According to the Information Consulting Council under the Ministry of Trade the markets of goods, services and tourism was very active in November, following Vietnam’s celebration for its accession to the WTO, its hosting of the APEC Vietnam 2006 and Vietnamese Teachers Day as well as the stockpile for Christmas, Solar New Year and Lunar New Year.

The total goods and service retail in November was valued VND53,423 billion (US$3.33 billion), up 4.1 per cent on-month, totalling VND523,426 billion (US$32.7 billion) in the January-November period, a year-on-year increase of 20.7 per cent. The export revenues were US$3.46 billion in November, totalling US$36.275 billion in the 11 months, up 23.7 per cent on year. The import expenditure was estimated at US$4.1 billion, aggregating US$40.764 billion from January to November, up 21.4 per cent on year.

In December 2006, as usual, the purchasing power will be higher and the price of several key commodities will be higher. However, there will not big changes as the supply is ensured. The CPI in December is forecast to rise 0.8 per cent, totalling 6.8 per cent in 2006, lower than last year’s 8.4 per cent rise.