The national consumer price index (CPI) in July grew by 0.45 per cent month-on-month, fueled by higher prices of food, foodstuff and electricity, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said on last week.

This figure represents an increase of 2.06 per cent compared to the same period last year. The July core inflation increased 0.36 per cent from last month and 4.11 per cent from the same period last year. 

Among the 11 groups of goods and services used to calculate the CPI, ten had higher prices than in the previous month, with the group of other goods and services reporting the highest rise of 2.84 per cent.

Housing and construction materials rose by 0.51 per cent month on month while transportation went up 0.11 per cent. Post and telecommunications is the only group with prices dropping in the month, falling 0.12 per cent.

The average CPI in the first seven months of 2023 rose by 3.12 per cent against last year’s corresponding period while core inflation was up by 4.65 per cent.

The GSO attributed the seven-month CPI hike to the prices of educational services which increased by 7.61 per cent compared to the same period last year because some localities have increased school fees from September 2022 after exempting or reducing the fees in the 2021-22 academic year.

Another contributor to the CPI hike was the prices of housing and construction materials which went up 6.58 per cent year-on-year due to the increase in cement, iron, steel and sand prices in line with the price of input materials and high housing rents. The group of other goods and services rose by 3.71 per cent over the same period last year, mainly because health insurance services increased following a hike in basic salary from July 2023.

The prices of culture, entertainment and tourism groups up by 3.45 per cent as the COVID-19 pandemic was put under control resulting in an increase in people's demand for entertainment and tourism.

In August, the gold price index fell by 0.03 per cent against the previous month, while the US dollar index rose 0.53 per cent. — VNS