Vietnam’s consumer price index up 0.61% in June

The consumer price index (CPI) for June increased by 0.61% against the previous month, on the back of higher food, fuel and utility prices, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The CPI increase in June was driven by higher food and energy prices.
The CPI increase in June was driven by higher food and energy prices.

The agency stated that the CPI for June was the highest month-on-month rise in the last seven years, adding that the index has risen by 2.22% from December 2017 and 4.67% since the same month last year.

The average CPI in the first half of 2018 grew by 3.29% compared with the same period of 2017.

Among the 11 categories of goods and services used to calculate the CPI, 10 saw increases in June, with the food and restaurant group seeing the biggest change at 1.08%.

According to Do Thi Ngoc, deputy head of the GSO’s price statistics department, the strong CPI increase in June was also buoyed by seasonal factors such as hot weather which drove up the demand for electricity and water, whose prices rose 0.86% and 0.38% respectively.

In addition, despite cuts to fuel prices on June 22, transport costs rose 1.04% as a result of previous fuel price hikes.

In June, the gold price index dropped 0.79% in line with the global trend, with a tael of SJC gold averaging at VND3.67 million, while the US dollar rose by a slight 0.2% from the previous month.

The core inflation rate in June, which excludes the prices of food, energy and goods regulated by the government, increased by 0.1% compared to May and 1.37% against with the same month last year.