Vietnam’s consumer price index in July is estimated to have increased at the seven-year lowest monthly pace of 0.06% from June, supported by lower costs of rice, transport and construction materials, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said late July.
The index was up 8.19% from a year earlier and 4.84% from the beginning of 2010, the GSO noted.
Nine out of 11 groups of goods and services recorded prices hikes this month, including beverages and cigarettes with the highest rise of 0.41% on-month, followed by household appliances with 0.39%.
Foods and foodstuffs services gained 0.21%, in which restaurant and related services climbed 0.53% on-month while foods dropped 0.97%.
July is the month of college and university entrance exams but prices of education products and services were up only 0.11%.
Prices of transports, housing and constructing materials, and post and telecommunications saw an on-month fall of 0.94%, 0.47% and 0.07%, respectively.
Gold price soared 2.15% on-month in July, expanding the year-on-year rise to 35.86%. The U.S. dollar slightly increased 0.38% on-month and 5.04% on-year.
This month, the CPI in urban areas in Vietnam grew 0.07% from the previous month and 9.12% against July 2009, while the index in rural regions was up 0.05% and 7.47%, respectively.
Analysts said inflation slowdown may help the central bank take move to loosen further the monetary policy.
They, however, warned that Vietnam is coming into storm season, which may result in a serious shortage of essential commodities, causing their prices to continue surging.
Major cities, including Hanoi and HCM City, are urged to continue efforts to ensure sufficient supply of essentials to avoid any price hikes.
Vietnam is striving to curb its CPI at 8% this year to stabilize the national macro economy. (GSO, VNS)
Vietnamese
