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| Consumers shop at Winmart Vo Thi Sau in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi__Photo: VNA |
Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.16 percent in May compared to April, mainly due to higher costs for rental housing, home maintenance materials, electricity and dining out, the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance has reported.
The May CPI was up 1.53 percent compared to December 2024, and rose 3.24 percent year-on-year.
For the first five months of 2025, the index increased by 3.21 percent from the same period last year, while core inflation went up 3.1 percent.
Food and catering services rose by 3.83 percent year-on-year during the five-month period, with pork prices surging by 13.53 percent due to tight supply and high demand during holidays.
Housing and utility-related prices increased 5.43 percent, pushing the CPI up by 1.02 percentage points. Rental prices climbed 6.84 percent, electricity costs up 4.93 per cent, and home maintenance materials up 2.71 percent.
Healthcare services and pharmaceuticals saw a sharp 14.07 percent rise, largely driven by an updated pricing circular from the Ministry of Health. Household equipment and appliances witnessed a price hike of 1.58 percent.
Meanwhile, transport costs dropped by 3.97 percent, with fuel prices down 13.39 per cent. Postal and telecommunications services also fell slightly by 0.49 percent, mainly due to lower prices of older-generation mobile phones.
Gold prices soared in line with global trends. Domestically, gold prices in May surged 10.47 percent month-on-month and nearly 45.95 percent year-on-year. Over the five months, domestic gold prices surged 35.37 percent.
The US dollar index fell 0.82 per cent globally as markets expected the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. However, in Vietnam, rising demand for import-export payments pushed the May index up by 0.68 percent month-on-month, 2.69 percent year-on-year, and 2.59 percent compared to December 2024. On average, the US dollar index increased by 3.35 percent in the first five months.
The core inflation in May rose 0.33 percent month-on-month and 3.33 percent year-on-year, said the National Statistics Office.- (VNA/VLLF)
