Petrol, power tariff hikes push CPI up

Consumer price index up 0.16 per cent this month. Photo Vu Sinh

This has been the highest increase since the beginning of this year.

She said the price of petrol increased by 11 per cent on May 5, while that of electricity went up by 7.5 per cent on March 16.

Ngoc explained that although electricity tariff rose in the middle of March, consumption surged owing to hot weather, thereby pushing the CPI up by 0.11 per cent.

Eight out of 11 main commodity groups in the CPI recorded price increases. Housing and building materials led with a 1.27 per cent rise over the last month.

Transport services marked a 1.02 per cent increase; home appliances 0.13 per cent; culture, entertainment and tourism 0.39 per cent; while the prices of goods and other services increased 0.17 per cent.

With a 0.29 per cent decrease caused by abundant supplies, consumers enjoyed cuts in foodstuff prices. There had also been a downturn in consumption: pork consumption dropped 0.61 per cent; chicken fell nearly 0.5 per cent; and vegetables precipitously dropped 1.69 per cent.

With fierce competition from Thailand, India, and Cambodia in importer markets such as Africa, Myanmar, and China, the country's rice exports decreased both in volume and turnover.

Restaurant and catering services had a price reduction: 0.22 per cent as compared to April.

Gold and the US dollar, not calculated in the common CPI, were inverses; gold in Ha Noi continued its drop with 0.27 per cent and the US dollar rose by 0.44 per cent.

On May 7, the State Bank adjusted the Vietnamese dong to US dollar exchange rates from VND21,458 to VND21,673 per USD. The move was aimed at keeping the prices of Vietnamese products low so that the country's exports remained stronger.

The office forecasts that the June CPI will see slight growth because of the residual effects of another increase in petrol price on May 20 and an increase in the demand for electricity in the coming hot months.