HCMC – Vietnam’s consumer prices rose 3.27% in the first half of 2025 from a year earlier, driven by higher construction material, fuel, and healthcare costs, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO).
In June alone, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.48% from May, bringing the year-on-year increase to 3.57%. Compared to December 2024, prices were up 2.02%.
Prices for construction materials, particularly sand, bricks, and gravel, climbed sharply. Global fuel price movements also pushed domestic gasoline prices higher.
Healthcare costs rose 13.87% year-on-year due to new pricing policies issued by the Health Ministry. This added 0.75 percentage point to the overall CPI.
Housing and utility prices increased 5.73%, while electricity tariffs picked up 5.51%, following two adjustments by state-run utility EVN.
Food and catering services were up 3.69%. Pork prices rose 12.75% on limited supply and strong holiday demand.
Transport prices fell 3.63%, helping reduce headline inflation by 0.35 percentage point, largely due to a 12.56% drop in average fuel prices from a year earlier.
Core inflation, which excludes the items with volatile prices like food and energy, rose 3.16% in the first six months.
Nguyen Thu Oanh, head of the Price Statistics Department at the GSO, said inflation remained under control due to coordinated government measures, including tax cuts, lower interest rates, public investment, and supply chain support.
Global risks such as tight monetary policy, geopolitical tensions, and slowing demand continue to pose challenges. However, Vietnam’s inflation rate remains below those in Japan and the UK, which recorded 3.5% and 3.4% respectively in May.
