The consumer price index (CPI) dropped by 0.09 per cent in July from the previous month, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on Sunday.

This month’s CPI rose 2.13 per cent from last December and 4.46 per cent from the same period of 2017. The seven-month figure rose 3.45 per cent from last year.

Eight of the 11 groups of main commodities and services saw prices increase, namely goods and services (0.56 per cent); restaurant services (0.43 per cent); housing and building material (0.37 per cent); culture, entertainment and tourism (up 0.26 per cent); and garment, footwear and hats (0.12 per cent). Three groups of medicine and health care services; transport and post and telecommunications saw decreases of 5.85 per cent, 0.52 per cent and 0.05 per cent respectively.

Do Thi Ngoc, director of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department, said the declining CPI was due to a decrease of 0.8 per cent in the price of rice from the previous month as the northern provinces have been harvesting the winter-spring crop, increasing rice supply.

In addition, rice export prices dropped to the lowest levels since October 2017 at US$385-395 per tonne, a reduction of $10-30 per tonne.

Ngoc said the petrol retail price reduced 1.24 per cent from the previous month while the price of healthcare services also decreased following the Ministry of Health’s Circular 15/2018/TT/BYT dated May 30th, contributing to the declining CPI in July.

Meanwhile, there were factors hampering a further drop in CPI, including the increase of the pork price by 3.02 per cent from June and gas selling price hike of 0.24 per cent following the increase in the world market, she noted.

The hot weather pushed up demand for electricity and water by 0.89 per cent and 0.35 per cent from the previous month respectively.

The basic wage increase of VND90,000 per month from the beginning of July also boosted the healthcare insurance price hike by 6.33 per cent from the previous month.

In July, domestic gold prices fluctuated in line with global gold prices, dropping 1.57 per cent from June to around VND36.83 million per tael. The price of the US dollar meanwhile surged to VND23,145, an average increase of 0.84 per cent from the previous month. The State Bank of Viet Nam on July 23rd adjusted the USD-Vietnamese dong from VND23.050 to VND23.273 in line with the world market. The foreign exchange rate last month fluctuated due to the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates on June 13th, the ongoing trade war between the US and China and the record decrease in the Chinese yuan against the US dollar.

The GSO said that core inflation, which is the CPI excluding grain food, fresh foodstuff, energy and the State-managed goods of health care and educational services, increased 0.15 per cent in July month-on-month and 1.41 per cent year on year. Seven-month core inflation rose by 1.36 per cent from a year earlier, indicating a stable monetary policy. — VNS