The June consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.66 percent month-on-month and 3.17 percent year-on-year but was down 0.59 percent against December 2019, the General Statistics Office reported on June 29.
The average CPI in the first half grew 4.19 percent, while core inflation (CPI) excluding grains, fresh foodstuffs, energy, and State-managed healthcare and education) was 2.81 percent higher than in the same period of last year, data reveals.
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| High pork prices were among the factors contributing to the CPI growth in June__Photo: VNA |
Seven of the eleven groups of main consumer goods and services recorded month-on-month price hikes in June - transport (6.05 percent), food and restaurant services (0.44 percent), beverage and cigarettes (0.09 percent), household appliances and goods (0.07 percent), medicine and healthcare services (0.01 percent), education (0.01 percent), and other goods and services (0.19 percent).
Three groups saw falling prices - housing and construction materials (0.42 percent), postal and telecoms services (0.04 percent), and culture, entertainment, and tourism (0.01 percent).
The prices of garments, footwear, and headwear remained stable, the GSO noted.
Director of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department Do Thi Ngoc said the June CPI growth was partly driven by two petrol price hikes and high pork prices due to unstable supply.
There were also factors curbing the increase, she noted, with rice prices falling as the harvest of the winter-spring crop was completed, while prices of fresh aquatic products were down because of lower input costs and falling demand from importing countries and tourists.
Household electricity prices were also cut in June to assist those affected by COVID-19, under decisions from the Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The GSO added that in the first half, overall inflation rose at a faster pace than core inflation, reflecting the fact that price changes were driven mainly by non-monetary factors such as food and petrol prices.- (VNA/VLLF)
