The growth rate surpasses the country’s target of 6.8 percent, and prior forecasts of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at 6.9 percent and the World Bank at 6.8 percent. It is higher than the average 5.2 percent growth for Asia as a whole that ADB has forecast earlier.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the Department of Price Management under the Ministry of Finance, said that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is estimated to rise by 2.73 percent this year, the lowest in the last three years. Vietnam targets to keep CPI growth below 4 percent each year.

Although the prices of some commodities such as pork, consumer goods and health services rose, there were declines in prices of telecommunications, gas and some other goods and services, he added.

The country targets a GDP growth of 6.8 percent next year.