Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi outlined a price management scenario to keep average Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth around 4.5% in 2026, after inflation stood at 4.57% over the first 10 months.
At the Government’s October press briefing on November 4, Chi said that at a meeting of the Steering Committee for Price Management in October, the Ministry of Finance presented a price management scenario comprising five key groups of tasks and measures.
First, authorities must monitor and forecast market price movements for essential goods. Ministries, sectors, and localities must regularly update information on domestic and international prices and propose timely, appropriate measures to avoid being caught off guard by price shocks.
Second, they must ensure a stable supply and maintain the prices of essential goods. Ministries, sectors, and localities should balance supply and demand, manage reserves, and facilitate the distribution of key items, including petrol, food, medicines, and medical supplies. They should also prepare sufficient stocks to meet end-of-year and Lunar New Year demand, strengthen supply-demand coordination between localities, and prevent supply chain disruptions and localised shortages.
Third, macroeconomic policies must be coordinated consistently, with monetary policy managed in coordination with fiscal policy and other macroeconomic measures. Appropriate tax and fee policies should continue to be implemented to reduce input costs and support businesses and residents.
Fourth, the State must prudently manage the prices of goods and services. Ministries and sectors should carefully review the timing and scale of price adjustments, fully assess their impact on the CPI, people's living standards and business operations, and ensure consistency with inflation control targets. Special attention should be given to managing the prices of essential strategic commodities, including petrol and electricity.
Fifth, market inspections must be strengthened, alongside measures to reduce input costs. Authorities should inspect price declarations and listings, handle speculation, hoarding, price manipulation and profiteering, particularly during the year-end period and public holidays and festivals.
Under the scenario, the Steering Committee also requires businesses to reduce selling prices appropriately when input costs fall. Localities recording high CPI increases should analyse the causes by commodity and service group to enable targeted price management measures.
The Deputy Minister added that the Steering Committee for Price Management conducted a thorough analysis. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang, Head of the Committee, concluded that the target of keeping inflation at around 4.5% in 2026 could be achieved if ministries, sectors, localities and the entire political system effectively implemented the five groups of tasks and measures.
Petrol tax adjustment and electricity price cuts are expected to lower average 2026 CPI by 0.08 percentage points
Regarding the adjustment of the special consumption tax on petrol and lowering electricity prices on the CPI, Chi said reducing the tax to zero from November 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, would decrease State budget revenue by nearly 7 trillion VND (approximately 272 million USD).
Together with the 2% reduction in average retail electricity prices from November 1, the two measures are estimated to lower the November CPI by around 0.5 percentage points compared with October, and reduce average CPI growth for 2026 by approximately 0.08 percentage points./.
VNA
