Slight increase seen in buying power
The purchasing power of Vietnamese citizens increased slightly in October 2014, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
GSO figures showed that the total value of goods and services reached nearly VND251.19 trillion (US$12 billion), a 10.7% year-on-year increase.
This is the highest figure for total value since the beginning of this year, said Vu Manh Ha, a GSO economist.
Ha attributed the slight increase in sales to the price stabilisation of numerous goods and services.
In October alone, the price of petrol was slashed three times and fell by 2.19%. As a result, reductions were seen in the cost of transport, by 1.02%, as well as housing rent and gas, by 0.08%. Slight increases were seen in the cost of food, by 0.01%; culture and entertainment services, by 0.02%; and garments and footwear, by 0.19%.
Ha said that in the first 10 months of the year, the total value of goods and services reached around US$114.2 billion, an 11.1% year-on-year increase over the same frame last year. He noted that the rate of growth remained slow.
According to the GSO, the total retail sales of goods accounted for 75.4% of the total sales of goods in the past 10 months, bringing in a total revenue of US$86.12 billion, an 11% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, the total retail sales of the private sector reached US$98.8 billion, likewise an 11% year-on-year increase.