Vietnam's Jan-Oct trade deficit $8.21 bln-customs

Vietnam's trade deficit in the first 10 months of the year amounted to $8.21 billion, lower than an initial estimate of $8.39 billion, in line with a government forecast of the full-year deficit at $10 billion, Vietnam Customs said on Tuesday.

Exports rose 35.5 percent from the same period last year to $78.56 billion while imports were up 27.7 percent at $86.77 billion, said a report from the Finance Ministry-run customs department. October's actual deficit also eased to $620 million, from the General Statistics Office's estimate last month of $800 million, the customs report said. Vietnam's trade deficit this year may be only $10 billion rather than the original target of $14.5 billion, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the parliament on Oct. 20.

However, imports tend to rise in the last quarter of the year as businesses speed up production before the Lunar New Year festival known as 'Tet', Vietnam's largest holiday in a year. Vietnam may have a surplus in its balance of payments at $2.5 billion this year given the trade gap and the foreign exchange market are well monitored, state media have quoted central bank governor Nguyen Van Binh as saying.

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