Declining CPI raises concerns

The meeting reviewed market and price fluctuations during the first half of the year and discussed concerns over continued financial market instability during the rest of the year.

Economist Ngo Tri Long, formerly from the Ministry of Finance's Institute for Price and Market Research, said the decline was due to economic difficulties, a fall in production, high inventories and low purchasing power but not due to cost reductions.

Nguyen Minh Phong, head of the Ha Noi Institute for Socio-Economic Development's Economic Research Division, said this was the first time in the last 20 years that demand had reduced to such a low level in some sectors. He said stagnancy in the real estate market had affected other business activities, causing a fall in incomes.