August’s CPI rises 3.45% year on year, says GSO

Actually, the August CPI remained stable compared to the previous month due to the fluctuating increases and decreases in the prices of goods and services in the market, the GSO said in its report released on September 6.

August saw the prices of food, housing rentals, and other items go up compared to July, while domestic fuel prices decreased in line with global trends.

Out of the 11 main categories of goods and services, 10 experienced a slight increase in their price indices, while the transportation category saw a decrease compared to the previous month.

Specifically, the prices of housing, electricity, water, fuel, construction materials, and food and catering services edged up 0.27% year on year. Similarly, other goods and services increased by 0.2%, while medicine and medical services inched up by 0.18%. Only transportation services saw a fall of 1.98% due to a decrease in the prices of petrol and oil as a result of petrol price adjustments made during the month.

Meanwhile, core inflation in August increased by 0.24% compared to the previous month and by 2.53% year on year. The eight-month inflation expanded by 2.71% year on year, lower than the average CPI rise of 4.04%.

It’s noteworthy that the prices of food, household electricity, educational services, healthcare services, and fuel, which contribute to the CPI increase, are excluded from the basket used to calculate core inflation.

According to the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), inflation is moving closer to Vietnam’s 4.5% upper limit, amid high commodity prices and other fluctuating factors such as increased health insurance premiums. However, the bank forecast that the adverse price factors will likely ease soon, leading to a significant reduction in inflation in the second half of 2024. The average inflation rate is expected to stand at around 3.6% for the entire year of 2024.