The country's gross domestic product (GDP) this year is expected to be 6.5 percent, much higher than the Government's set target of 6.2 percent, the National Financial Supervisory Committee (NFSC) forecast.

According to the committee, the GDP in the first quarter of the year posted a 6.03 percent year-on-year increase, the highest in the last five years.

The committee said the increasing GDP was due to improved demand. The total retail sale of products and services in the first quarter (excluding price rise) was 5.1 percent higher than the same period last year.

The investment demand also improved. The country's credit growth reached 1.25 percent by March 20, much higher than the level of 0.5 percent in the corresponding period last year, thanks to interest rate cut to some extent.

FDI disbursement in the first three months was 7 percent, higher than 5.6 percent in the past 12 months.

The country's exports in the first quarter of this year grew 6.9 percent against the same period last year to touch 35.7 billion USD.

As for inflation, the committee said CPI this year would continue to be a low 3.5 percent. If the world food prices fall this year, the CPI target of 5 percent would depend on electricity tariff adjustment.

It calculated that the power tariff rise of 7.5 percent on March 16 would increase the whole year's CPI by 0.5 percent.-VNA