Interest rates remain stable: survey

Hanoi (VNA) - Interest rates for deposits and loans and bond yields have remained relatively steady since the end of January, as inflation is under control and foreign exchange rate is stable.

These are the findings of the latest survey on interest rates done by HCM City Securities Company (HSC).

Currently, interest rates for VND deposits are 4.5 to 5.4 percent  for one- to six-month terms; 5.4 to 6.5 percent  for six- to below-12-month terms; and 6.4 to 7.2 percent  a year for more than 12 months.

The VND lending rates average 6 to 7 percent  per year for short-term loans, and 9 to 10 percent  a year for medium- and long-term loans in priority fields. The average rate for ordinary loans is 6.8 to 9 percent  a year for short term, and 9.3 to 11 percent  a year for medium- and long-term loans.

The yields of the Government’s five-year, seven-year, 20-year and 30-year bonds are 5.03, 5.35, 7 and 7.55 percent  a year, respectively.

The consumer price index in May slid 0.53 percent  against the previous month, according to the General Statistics Office, suggesting that inflation would not rise in the short term. Together with the stable foreign exchange rate, it has helped keep interest rates stable in the first part of 2017, HSC said.

HSC expects the devaluation of the VND against the dollar to be less than 2 percent  this year. The dollar has strengthened against the VND by 1 percent in the first five months.

Interest rates, especially of deposits, may inch down over the next few months, HSC said, adding that credit growth might exceed the 16 percent target, helping the GDP meet the 6.7 percent  growth target set for 2017.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch, has also forecast that interest rates for the rest of the year may decline by 0.5-1 percentage points against December 2016, if the VND remains stable.

Last week, market research company Market Intello also predicted that the average interest rate this year would drop by 0.5 percentage points compared to 2016. It expects the exchange rate to increase by 1-1.5 percent  as the US Federal Reserve’s plans to raise rates and trade deficit may raise the demand for US dollars much more than in 2016. However, it does not expect the đồng to be depressed further, as inflation is well under control at below 4 percent  and the central bank has abundant foreign reserves.-VNA