Ten out of 11 groups of goods and services saw price increases in August, with the highest rise reported in the medicine and health service group at 2.86%, as 17 provinces and cities nationwide raised health service fees for patients without health insurance in accordance with the a circular issued by the Health Ministry.
Prices of the transport group also went up by 2.13%, which was mainly driven by the price increases of petrol and oil on August 4 and August 19.
The CPI increase was also attributed to the upturn in prices of restaurant and catering services (up 1.06%), mostly due to the sharp increases of pork prices and vegetables.
In addition, the price of housing and construction materials went up 0.93%, while the price of education surged 0.57% due to the rise in school fees in five provinces and cities.
Five groups of goods and services witnessed small price increases, between 0.01% - 0.10%, including apparel, hats and footwear; beverages and cigarettes; household equipment and appliances; culture, entertainment and tourism; and goods and other services.
Only the post and telecommunications group suffered a price decrease, at 0.04%.
The GSO stated that the CPI in August surged by 1.23% compared to December 2016 and by 3.35% compared to the same period in 2016.
Not included in the CPI components, the price of gold in August rose 1.11% compared to the previous month but fell 2.35% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the price of the US dollar in August decreased 0.03% over the previous month and rose 1.83% over the same period in 2016.
