Vietnam April exports up 10.6% y/y, industrial output up 6.3%

HANOI -- Vietnam's exports in April are estimated to have risen 10.6% from a year earlier to $30.94 billion, led by shipments of electronics, while industrial output in the month rose an annual 6.3%, government data showed on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub, relies heavily on exports for its economic growth.

Imports in April are estimated to have risen 19.9% to $30.26 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $680 million for the month, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a report.

For the January-April period, exports rose 15.0% from a year earlier to $123.64 billion, while imports were up 15.4% to $115.24 billion, the GSO said. This translated into a trade surplus of $8.4 billion for the four months.

Consumer prices in April rose 4.4% from a year earlier, the GSO said, and retail sales increased an annual 9.0%.

Shipments of electronics in April rose 32.6% from a year earlier to $5.3 billion, according to the GSO. Smartphone exports in the month rose 9.1% to $4.2 billion.

Vietnam is targeting gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.0% to 6.5% this year, faster than its expansion of 5.05% last year.

Last week, the World Bank forecast Vietnam's GDP growth for this year at 5.5%, while Standard Chartered cut its forecast to 6.0% from 6.7% on lower-than-expected growth in the first quarter and global trade headwinds.