ANZ Revises Down Vietnam 2014 Inflation Forecast on Weak Demand

        0416 GMT [Dow Jones] ANZ revises down its forecast for Vietnam's inflation rate for 2014 to around 6.0% from 7.0% on weak domestic demand. The bank says in a note that persistent soft inflation may encourage further monetary easing, following the central bank's key rate cuts in March. "We remain of the view that further policy easing would have a limited impact on credit growth due to tight credit supply as banks continue to grapple with high bad debt ratios," it says. ANZ is maintaining its GDP forecast for Vietnam at 5.6% for this year, citing "weak but stable" improvements. The manageable outlook on external trade remains supportive of the dong, enabling the central bank to shore up its foreign exchange reserves to $35 billion, it says. (trong-khanh.vu@wsj.com)
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        May 08, 2014 00:16 ET (04:16 GMT)