CPI in June forecast to rise 0.1-0.2%

CPI in June forecast to rise 0.1-0.2%

The national consumer price index is forecast to continue inching up by 0.1-0.2 per cent in June against the previous month, says the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Market Management Board.

Prices of goods, especially food and foodstuff had remained stable; interest rates of commercial loans and oil prices were going down, the board said.

However, the board said there were some factors that might accelerate the CPI in June. Examination season was drawing near and it was also peak season for tourism, thus the prices of food and services at restaurants would go up.

This was also the beginning of the wet season, therefore prices of rice, fruit and vegetables might increase, it reported.

The CPI in May showed a month-on-month increase of 0.18 per cent and a year-on-year rise of 8.34 per cent, said the General Statistics Office.

In the first five months of this year, the CPI increased 13.3 per cent over the same period last year.

Nguyen Duc Thang, head of the office's CPI department said: "The increasing CPI in May is due to the impact of oil prices rising twice in March and April with high growth rates, whereas the oil price decrease in early May was low."

Particularly, prices of home appliances were up 0.57 per cent, medicines and health care services rose 0.33 per cent, and garments, footwear and hats increased 0.58 per cent.

The price hike of oil, coupled with the holiday from April 30 to May 1, had also pushed up the prices of food and beverages by 0.66 per cent. Besides, culture and entertainment prices rose 0.63 per cent.

The Government has increased salaries by 26 per cent, thus making a growth rate of 3.09 per cent on prices of other goods and services, Thang said.

However, CPI in May had been curbed by a downturn in some commodities.

"The prices of rice and food continue to slide, down 0.26 per cent and 0.54 per cent respectively due to oversupply. This has contributed to the low growth rate of the CPI," he said.

In particular, gas retail prices decreased by VND35,000-40,000 (US$1.67-1.90) to VND370,000 ($17.6) per 12kg canister.

Prices of sugar cane in May reduced by VND1,000 to VND20,000-24,000 ($0.95-1.14) per kilo in comparison with April.

Pork prices went down by VND2,000 to VND48,000-50,000 ($2.29-2.38) per kilo in the northern area and to VND43,000-45,000 ($2.05-2.14) per kilo in the southern area.

In fact, the CPI in May was the lowest May in the past eight years, according to the office

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