Customers shop at a supermarket in Ha Noi. — VNS Photo

Viet Nam’s monthly consumer price index (CPI) in July rose again by 0.11 per cent, following the rebound of food prices, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The rise was reported after the index slid or remained unchanged for three months. In April, the monthly CPI remained unchanged, and it dropped by 0.53 per cent and 0.17 per cent in May and June, respectively.

Compared with the same period last year, the index increased 2.52 per cent, the office reported.

However, the monthly rise of CPI in July was still the lowest in the past nine years. The increasing rate from 2008 to 2016 was between 0.13 per cent and 1.17 per cent.

According to deputy director of GSO’s Consumer Price Index Department Do Thi Ngoc, the increase in CPI for July was mainly driven by the 3.19 per cent price hike of food, including the increase in the price of pork, following six-months of declining prices, and the price rise in vegetables due to the impact of rainstorms and floods. Pork prices are from VND40,000 to VND49,000 (US$1.8-$2.1) per kilo, increasing from VND25,000 per kilo of the last three months following programmes to stimulate demand and to control the number of pigs raised by farmers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Besides this, another reason was the higher prices of housing and construction materials, which was due to the tightened management of sand mining in localities, resulting in a higher price for sand, Ngoc said, adding that the good item saw a rise of 1.07 per cent in July.

The high 0.46 per cent rise in medicine and healthcare services also contributed to the country’s average CPI, she said.

In addition to this, the entrance exams to the 10th grade and the national high school graduation exams held in July helped boost the demand for dining out and beverages, contributing to the CPI increase. The good item rose by 0.54 per cent in July.

Besides the above good items, July also saw another five out of the 11 groups of goods and services used to calculate the CPI posted price increases, including apparel, hats and footwear, up 0.04 per cent; beverages and cigarettes, up 0.04 per cent; education, up 0.05 per cent; household equipment and appliances, up 0.09 per cent; and goods and other services, up 0.73 per cent.

Meanwhile, the remaining three groups of goods and services suffered price decreases, namely traffic, down 1.52 per cent; post and telecommunications, down 0.06 per cent; and culture, entertainment and tourism, down 0.03 per cent. — VNS