GSO figures showed that the total value of goods and services reached nearly VND251.19 trillion (US$12 billion), a 10.7 per cent year-on-year increase.

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The purchasing power of Vietnamese citizens increased slightly in October 2014, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

GSO figures showed that the total value of goods and services reached nearly VND251.19 trillion (US$12 billion), a 10.7 per cent year-on-year increase.

This is the highest figure for total value since the beginning of this year, said Vu Manh Ha, a GSO economist.

Ha attributed the slight increase in sales to the price stabilisation of numerous goods and services.

In October alone, the price of petrol was slashed three times and fell by 2.19 per cent. As a result, reductions were seen in the cost of transport, by 1.02 per cent, as well as housing rent and gas, by 0.08 per cent. Slight increases were seen in the cost of food, by 0.01 per cent; culture and entertainment services, by 0.02 per cent; and garments and footwear, by 0.19 per cent.

Ha said that in the first 10 months of the year, the total value of goods and services reached around $114.2 billion, an 11.1-per cent year-on-year increase over the same frame last year. He noted that the rate of growth remained slow.

According to the GSO, the total retail sales of goods accounted for 75.4 per cent of the total sales of goods in the past 10 months, bringing in a total revenue of $86.12 billion, an 11-per cent year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, the total retail sales of the private sector reached $98.8 billion, likewise an 11-per cent year-on-year increase. — VNS