July CPI sees slight increase
The national Consumer Price Index (CPI) in July went up by a modest 0.27% against the previous month and 6.81% over the same period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) announced on July 24.
Ten out of 11 categories of the goods basket experienced price rises from 0.05% to 1.34%, with the highest seen in transport while the group of medicine and health services registered the lowest price increase.
Prices of restaurants and catering services, which accounted for almost 40% in the goods basket, edged up only 0.1% and the price of telecommunication services remained stable.
Head of the GSO’s Price Statistics Nguyen Duc Thang said two petrol price adjustments this month resulted in a 0.09% increase in the CPI. In addition, the increase in the minimum wage for civil servants pushed up the overall price level.
July also marked the university entrance exams and summer holidays which fuelled demands for food, beverages, travelling and accommodation.
Not included in the CPI, the price of gold dropped by 6.38% while the USD price saw a slight rise of 0.68%.
In the country’s two largest cities, CPI in Hanoi rose 0.22% over June and in Ho Chi Minh City, 0.17%, which were both a five-month high.