HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam reported a trade surplus of $2 billion in October, narrowing from the previous month as imports grew at a faster rate than exports, government data showed on Wednesday.
The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub, relies heavily on exports for its economic growth. Shipments abroad rose 10.1% in October from a year earlier, the General Statistics Office said, while imports increased by 13.6%.
For the January-October period, exports rose 14.9% from a year earlier to $335.586 billion, while imports were up 16.8% to $312.28 billion, the GSO said.
Industrial production rose by 7.0% in October from a year earlier, slower than 10.8% growth in September.
Last month, the Prime Minister said the government wanted to drive economic growth above an expected rate of 6.8%-7.0% this year. In the September quarter, annual growth hit a two-year high of 7.4%.The consumer price index rose 2.89% in October from a year earlier, below the government’s cap for 2024.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by John Mair)
