HCMC – The country’s consumer price index (CPI) in the January-July period grew 1.64% year-on-year, the lowest for the period since 2016, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In July alone, the CPI inched up 0.62% over the previous month and 2.25% against the same period last year, the local media reported.
The GSO attributed the slight increase in the CPI this month to the higher prices of food and foodstuff in localities practicing social distancing given the local residents’ purchase of products for stockpiling, fuels and gas in line with the global fuel and gas prices and electricity given the higher demand during these hot days.
In the seven-month period, the core inflation, which excludes the prices of fresh food, energy and State-controlled healthcare and education services, edged up 0.89% versus the year-ago period.
Among the 11 groups of consumer goods and services in the basket of items used to calculate the CPI, seven groups have marked an increase in prices, three have registered a decline, while the prices of other goods and services have been stable.
The transport group recorded the highest increase of 2.36% due to the fuel price hikes, followed by housing and building materials, food-catering services and beverages-tobacco with an increase of 0.88%, 0.67% and 0.18%, respectively.
The group of household equipment and appliances rose 0.06%, while education services and medicines and medical services posted a growth of 0.03% each.
Meanwhile, the prices of cultural, entertainment and tourism services dropped 0.53% due to the impact of Covid-19. In addition, the apparel-footwear-hat group slid 0.03% trigged by a decline in the demands of local residents, while the post and telecommunications group saw its price edging down 0.05%.
