Vietnam Growth Slows as Rising Energy Costs Feed Uncertainty

Vietnam’s economic momentum slowed in the first quarter as escalating tensions in the Middle East drive up energy costs and disrupt global trade routes, complicating General Secretary To Lam’s push for double-digit growth.

Gross domestic product expanded 7.83% from a year earlier, down from 8.46% in the fourth quarter, the National Statistics Office said in Hanoi on Saturday. That was higher than the median estimate of 7.6% in a Bloomberg survey of seven economists.