Eight out of 11 groups of goods and services posted price increases, including housing and construction materials up 0.03%; apparel, hats and footwear up 0.04%; beverages and cigarettes up 0.04%; education up 0.05%; household equipment and appliances up 0.09%; medicine and medical services up 0.36%; restaurants and catering services up 0.54%; and goods and other services up 0.73%.
Meanwhile, three out of the 11 groups of goods and services suffered price decreases, namely traffic down 1.52%; post and telecommunications down 0.06%; and culture, entertainment and tourism down 0.03%.
The increase in CPI for July was mainly driven by the higher prices of food, including the increase in the price of pork, following six-months of declining prices, and the price hike of vegetables due to the impact of rainstorms and floods.
Another reason was the higher prices of housing and construction materials which was due to the tightened management over sand mining in localities, resulting in a higher price for sand.
In addition, the entrance exams to the 10th grade and the national high school graduation exams held in July helped to boost the demand for dining out and beverages, contributing to the CPI increase.
In the meantime, the July CPI was subdued due to the abundant supply of food and declining prices of petrol, compared to the previous month.
