CPI up 4.57% in first 10 months of 2026

Viet Nam’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% in October from the previous month, mainly driven by higher domestic fuel prices in line with global trends, according to the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance.

The October index increased 4.41% from December 2025 and 5.09% year-on-year. On average, CPI rose 4.57% in the first 10 months of 2026, while core inflation stood at 4.24%.

Compared with September, prices increased in seven of the 11 main groups of consumer goods and services, while four recorded declines. CPI rose 0.16% in urban areas and 0.25% in rural areas.

The food and catering services group increased 4.61% year-on-year, contributing 1.65 percentage points to overall CPI growth. Meanwhile, housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials recorded a 6.66% increase, adding 1.51 percentage points to CPI. Household electricity prices increased 3.97% amid higher demand during hot weather.

Transport prices rose 6.98%, contributing 0.7 percentage points to overall CPI growth, with fuel prices up 13.09%. Education prices increased 3.29%, while household appliances and equipment rose 2.88%.

The statistics office noted that CPI increase accelerated in the early months of the year, peaked in May, eased in June and July, and picked up again from August through October. Higher global fuel and gas prices, rising construction and housing maintenance costs, increased electricity demand and higher food input costs were the main contributing factors.

Meanwhile, domestic gold prices fell 2.85% in October from the previous month but averaged 37.28% higher in the first 10 months year-on-year. The average global gold price stood at 4,137.85 USD per ounce as of October 28, down 6.69% from September.

The domestic US dollar price index declined 0.26% month-on-month in October and 1.32% from December 2025. However, it averaged 0.78% higher in the first 10 months year-on-year, despite relatively abundant foreign currency supply and flexible exchange rate management by the State Bank of Viet Nam.

Core inflation fell 0.05% in October from the previous month and rose 4.04% year-on-year. Its average increase of 4.24% in the first 10 months remained below headline CPI growth, as fuel, gas, food and fresh produce prices, as well as healthcare services, are excluded from the core inflation calculation.