Vietnam’s consumer price index up 0.59% in October

The consumer price index (CPI) in October went up 0.59% against the previous month, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported.

Higher pork prices are one of the main causes behind the CPI increase in October.
Higher pork prices are one of the main causes behind the CPI increase in October.

They added that the average CPI in the first ten months of 2019 rose by 2.48%, the lowest increase in the past three years.

According to the GSO, the uptick in the October CPI was primarily driven by higher pork prices as a result of the African swine fever, fuel price hikes in line with global prices and increases in educational service prices.

Among the 11 groups of goods and services used to calculate inflation, ten groups saw price rises with the exception of telecommunications services, which dropped 0.06% over the previous month.

In October, food and catering services posted the biggest gain at 1.04%, followed by an increase of 0.99% in transport costs and 0.53% rise in housing utilities and building materials.

Educational services climbed 0.19% as tuition fees in a number of areas were hiked for the 2019-2020 academic year. The prices of entertainment and tourism services went up 0.12% while household appliances edged up 0.09%.

Garment and footwear products saw a slight increase of 0.06% and medical services went up 0.04%.

Excluded from the CPI basket, the index of gold prices in October dropped 0.57% against September while the US dollar index increased by 0.03% over the previous months.