Vietnam Q1 growth slows in 2026

WAM
04 Apr 2026, 10:56 GMT+10

HANOI, 4th April, 2026 (WAM) -- Vietnam's economy slowed in the first quarter from the three months prior, data showed on Saturday, as heavy exposure to Middle Eastern oil imports boosted inflation, presenting a challenge in reaching an annual growth target, authorities said.

Gross domestic product grew 7.83 percent in the quarter from January to March over the corresponding period a year earlier, but below 8.46 percent in the fourth quarter, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said in a report.

"The pressure from rising input costs and energy prices on inflation remains, posing challenges for economic governance," the NSO added on Saturday.

Consumer prices rose 4.65 percent in March on the year, driven by a surge of 10.81 percent in transport costs, it said, accelerating from a rise of 3.35 percent in February.

This year's growth target of at least 10 percent is under pressure as the Southeast Asian economy imports more than 80 percent of crude oil supplies from the Middle East.

Rising fuel prices have spurred Vietnamese airlines to scale back operations and government efforts to cut costs, such as reducing taxes on fuel, subsidising prices and encouraging remote work to reduce consumption.

Growth was up from the 7.05 percent on-year expansion of the first quarter of 2025.

Exports rose 20.1 percent in March to $46.44 billion from a year earlier, the report said. March industrial production rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, but slowed from growth of 8.6 percent in the corresponding month last year. Additionally, gasoline prices increased by 21 percent and diesel prices by 84 percent in Vietnam.

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