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Ministry urges postponing price hikes
The Government must postpone a plan to allow the prices of several necessities to rise in July in a move to case people’s financial burdens, said the director of the Ministry of Finance’s Price Management Department, Nguyen Tien Thoa.
The postponement should be applied for necessities such as power, drinking water and bus tickets, Thoa said.
Thoa said the ministry would announce a suitable price hike itinerary for each type of necessity and apply a series of measures to avoid skyrocketing prices in the local market.
The Government previously kept a lid on the prices of 10 necessities: petrol, electricity, coal, drinking water, bus, rail and air tickets, cement, iron, steel, and school and hospital fees.
As July approaches, the public is awaiting the Government’s decision, While producers expect a price hike decision to salvage their losses, consumers are concerned about being able to pay more for basic goods come July.
According to the ministry, price intervention runs contrary to market principles, however, the Government needed to deregulate the prices of necessities in order to fight inflation.
Experts are concerned about a potential petrol price hike in June as the world oil price has been high at US $115 per barrel in recent weeks, causing major losses to local importers.
VNN
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