Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the meeting of the Ministry of Finance on July 18 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Finance (MoF)must apply measures to curb year-on-year inflation in 2018 at below 3.7-3.9percent, said Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.
Speaking at a MoF meeting in Hanoi on July 18 – onreviewing the State budget in the first half of this year and setting forthtasks for the remaining months – the official stressed the need to closelymonitor the prices of essential goods, especially during the time naturaldisasters and floods.
Hue, who is also head of the Government’s SteeringCommittee on Price Management, urged relevant agencies to take the initiativein price management, especially those prices of goods under State management.
According to the MoF’s Department of PriceManagement, over the past two months, domestic prices were greatly affected by theglobal rise in oil and gas prices, as well as regional rises in rice and porkprices.
Given this context, the ministry proposed some specificmeasures to stabilise the market and control inflation.
The timely implementation of social welfare policieshave helped raise pubic confidence in the leadership of the Party and theGovernment, said Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung.
The Price Management Department said there arepotential risks to the consumer price index (CPI) for the last six months ofthis year, calling for cautious steps in price management and inflationcontrol.
The MoF will continue its close coordination withother ministries and agencies in implementing the Government’s guidelines on inflationcontrol, as well as instructions from the Steering Committee on PriceManagement.
More attention will be paid to goods and serviceswhose prices are decided by the State, or those purchased from the Statebudget, national stockpiled products, and goods and services for publicinterests.
Any violations should be punished strictly in linewith legal regulations and every effort to hike prices irrationally should beprevented, heard the meeting.
The ministry will also join hands with theMinistries of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture and Rural Development tomanage the prices of oil and gas, and farm produce for the time to come.
At the meeting, the MoF also reported that betweenJanuary and June, it conducted 22 inspections and proposed financial settlementstotaling 1.91 trillion VND (82.13 million USD). -VNA
VNA
