The consumer price index (CPI) in April decreased by 0.34 per cent month-on-month, but increased by 2.81 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

In the first four months of this year, the index rose by 3.84 per cent year on year, mainly due to increases in prices of education, housing and construction materials, culture, entertainment and tourism, food, and electricity.

In April, seven out of the 11 groups of main consumer goods and services witnessed price decreases, and the remainders saw rises.

Notably, a 0.38 per cent fall in the price of food and catering services caused a decline of 0.13 percentage point of the CPI.

Gold prices in April were up 2.04 per cent month on month, but down 1.09 per cent year on year. In the January-April period, the prices rose by 0.66 per cent year on year.

Meanwhile, the US dollar price in April fell 0.89 per cent month on month, but rose by 2.5 per cent year on year, leading to a year-on-year increase of 3.21 per cent in the first four months of this year.

According to the GSO, core inflation in April increased by 0.13 per cent over the previous month, and by 4.56 per cent over the same period last year. On average, in the first four months, it increased by 4.9 per cent year on year, higher than the overall average CPI (3.84 per cent). — VNS