A wholesale fish market in Ha Noi. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh

Viet Nam’s consumer price index (CPI) in May was up 0.16 per cent against April and 2.9 per cent from last year, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO) on Saturday.

Compared to last month, increases were seen in the prices of eight out of 11 main groups of goods and services, with transport taking the lead (0.76 per cent) due to increasing petrol prices. It was followed by housing and construction materials (0.4 per cent); electricity (2.54 per cent); water (1.27 per cent); food and catering services (0.04 per cent); and equipment and household appliances 0.09 per cent.

By contrast, prices of the three groups of culture, entertainment and tourism; post and telecommunication services; and garment-textile, headwear and footwear decreased by 0.23 per cent, 0.15 per cent, and 0.01 per cent, respectively.

The index for the first five months of 2021 grew 1.29 per cent year-on-year, the lowest growth rate since 2016.

Core inflation in May increased 0.15 per cent month on month and 1.13 per cent against the same period last year.

It expanded 0.82 per cent in the first five months, lower than the period's 1.29 per cent CPI, reflecting that the fluctuations in consumer prices were mainly due to increases in food, oil-petrol and gas prices.

The core inflation rates in May and the first five months of 2021 compared to the same periods last year were the lowest in the past five years. — VNS