In October alone, the CPI edged up 0.2% from the previous month, 2.82% from December 2024, and 3.25% from a year earlier. Prices increased in 10 out of the 11 main goods and service categories, while transport was the only group to record a decline.
The food and catering services group rose 0.59% month-on-month, contributing 0.20 percentage points to overall CPI growth.
The education group climbed 0.51% last month, mainly due to a 0.56% increase in tuition fees at private and semi-public institutions in several provinces for the 2025–2026 school year, even as public schools benefits from tuition waivers and reductions under Government Decree No. 238/2025/ND-CP, issued on September 3. Prices of paper products, pens, and other stationery also edged up between 0.1% and 0.29%.
Prices of other goods and services advanced 0.43%, driven by a 9.82% rise in jewellery prices following global gold trends, along with slight increases in non-electric personal care tools (0.69%) and body care products (0.40%). Household equipment and appliances witnessed a price hike of 0.2% due to higher production and labour costs, while clothing, footwear and headwear gained 0.18% as cooler weather spurred shopping demand. Beverages and tobacco were up 0.12%, and culture, entertainment and tourism increased 0.06%.
The medicine and healthcare services group inched up 0.04%, while post and telecommunications rose 0.03%, with smartphone prices up 1.28%. The housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials group went up slightly by 0.01%, mainly reflecting higher home repair material costs (up 0.99%), rents (0.34%), and kerosene prices (0.56%).
In contrast, the transport category fell 0.81% in October, subtracting 0.08 percentage points from headline inflation. Diesel prices dropped 0.35%, and petrol fell 2.48% following domestic fuel price adjustments.
Domestic gold prices surged in tandem with global markets. The national gold price index jumped 12.53% in October, up 63.64% from December 2024 and 65.03% year-on-year. On average, the gold index rose 44.02% in the first ten months of 2025.
Meanwhile, the domestic US dollar price index edged down 0.34% in October, though it rose 3.62% from December 2024 and 5.54% year-on-year. It grew 3.98% during the 10 months.
Core inflation rose 0.35% in October and 3.3% year-on-year. On average, it increased 3.2% in the first ten months, slightly below the headline CPI rate, as food, electricity, healthcare, and education, which saw price hikes, are excluded from the core calculation, according to the NSO.
