Inflation in April further go down
Inflation in April further go down
The inflation rate in Laos continued to decline in April which is considered lower than the average inflation rate in Asean region.
According to the Bank of the Lao PDR, the inflation rate in April was recorded at 0.96 percent, the lowest in Laos in two months.
It has been seen that since February last year, inflation in Laos was reported below 2 percent, mainly driven by the falling price of fuel on the world market.
Howev er, many people still complained about the prices of products at markets and high cost of living in Laos which is higher than countries in Asean region.
The main reason might link to the fact that Laos imports more products from other countries than it exports.
An economist from the Faculty of Economics and Business Management at the National University of Laos, Dr Phouphet Kyophilavong, told Vientiane Times recently that Laos still imports a lot of food items from Thailand and if food prices in Thailand rise, this will affect Laos.
A senior economist from the National Economic Research Institute, Dr Leeber Leebouapao commented that although low inflation is reported in Laos, the cost of food is still rising.
“In Laos, the prices of fuel-relat ed products did not increase much in the past months but the prices of food and services increased quite a lot which is considered the main factor driving inflation,” he said.
April is a month when Lao people celebrated their New Year (Pi Mai Lao) , sparking rising demands for food and drink.
Usually the inflation rate will go up this month, but on the contrary the inflation rate went down this year. This may link to the fact that Laos has joined the Asean Economic Community which resulted in the easy inflow of food items to Laos.
In general, the inflation rate has remained lower than the rate of economic growth which was recorded at 7.6 percent this year.
According to a report from Focus Economics, inflation in Asean fell from 2.2 percent in February to 2.0 percent in March. The print largely reflected decreases in price pressures in Malaysia and Singapore, which more than offset higher inflation in the Philippines and Vietnam.
Focus Economics also reported that subdued commodity prices are expected to keep inflationary pressures in Asean in check this year and have given a number of Central Banks in the region the flexibility to ease monetary policies.
Focus Economics is a leading provider of economic analysis and forecasts for 127 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, as well as price forecasts for 33 key commodities.
Over the past five years, the Lao economy grew at the rate of 7.9 percent annually and economists predicted that the economy will continue to grow at not less than 7.5 percent over the next five years, which will be driven by the investment sector.
