CPI experiences slight rise in July

The rise was reported after the index slid or remained unchanged for three months. In April, the monthly CPI remained unchanged, and it dropped by 0.53 percent and 0.17 percent in May and June, respectively.

Compared to the same period last year, the index increased 2.52 percent, the office reported.

However, the monthly rise of CPI in July was still the lowest in the past nine years. The figure from 2008 to 2016 was between 0.13 percent and 1.17 percent.

According to deputy director of GSO’s Consumer Price Index Department Do Thi Ngoc, the increase in CPI for July was mainly driven by the 3.19 percent price hike of food, including the increase in the price of pork, following six-months of declining prices, and the price rise in vegetables due to the impact of rainstorms and floods. 

Pork prices are from 40,000 VND to 49,000 VND (1.8-2.1 USD) per kilo, increasing from 25,000 VND per kilo of the last three months following programmes to stimulate demand and to control the number of pigs raised by farmers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Besides this, another reason was the higher prices of housing and construction materials, which was due to the tightened management of sand mining in localities, resulting in a higher price for sand, Ngoc said, adding that the good item saw a rise of 1.07 percent in July.

The 0.46 percent rise in medicine and health care services also contributed to the country’s average CPI, she said.

In addition to this, the entrance exams to the 10th grade and the national high school graduation exams held in July helped boost the demand for dining out and beverages, contributing to the CPI increase. The good item rose by 0.54 per cent in July.

Besides the above good items, July also saw another five out of the 11 groups of goods and services used to calculate the CPI posted price increases, including apparel, hats and footwear, up 0.04 percent; beverages and cigarettes, up 0.04 percent; education, up 0.05 percent; household equipment and appliances, up 0.09 percent; and goods and other services, up 0.73 percent.

Meanwhile, the remaining three groups of goods and services suffered price decreases, namely traffic, down 1.52 percent; post and telecommunications, down 0.06 percent; and culture, entertainment and tourism, down 0.03 percent.