April CPI hits record low in three years

April 24, 2012 | 09:29

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Despite petrol price hike, the consumer price index (CPI) in April just inched up 0.05 per cent against March, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

This has been the lowest monthly CPI figure since April 2009 and a record low compared to Aprils of the past eight years, the GSO said in Hanoi on April 23.

As a result, the CPI for April 2012 rose 2.6 per cent against December 2011 and 10.54 per cent against April 2011.

Nguyen Duc Thang, a GSO official, attributed the record low index to the declining prices of essential commodities, mostly food and foodstuffs which make up 40 per cent of the CPI calculations.

The prices of food and foodstuffs continued to fall on an abundant supply, edging down the April index. The group of restaurants and services fell 0.8 per cent, with food down 1.69 per cent and foodstuffs down 0.87 per cent.

In addition, rice prices in the Mekong Delta were going down due to difficulties in exports. In April, retail prices of rice plummeted VND500-1,000/kg.

The group of housing and building materials decreased 0.44 per cent on the falling price of gas.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance’s decision to raise the petrol retail price of VND2,100/litre on March 7 drove transport costs up 2.67 per cent in April.

Experts forecast that the second adjustment of the petrol retail price on April 20 would raise the CPI for May up 0.36 per cent. A Government decision to increase State workers’ minimum salary level as of May 1 will also drive the May index up.

However, there will not be a sharp CPI rise in May due to business difficulty in accessing bank loans and low consumer purchasing power, said experts.

VOV

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