CPI in March stays on downward trend

CPI in March stays on downward trend

The country's CPI growth rate has maintained its downward tendency in March with a decrease of 0.19 per cent compared with last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

A GSO report released on Saturday said the CPI rose by 2.39 per cent in the first three months, much lower than the average growth of 4.2 per cent recorded during the same period in the previous nine years (2004 to 2012).

March's CPI growth rate, an increase of 6.64 per cent over the same period of 2012, is lower than growth rate of the previous five months, the report said.

However, the CPI growth rate from April to August 2013 is not likely to be as low as in the same period last year, it added.

City CPI falters

Meanwhile, according to a report released by HCM City's Statistics Bureau, March's CPI decreased by 0.29 per cent month-on-month with six out of the 11 commodity groups in the basket of goods used to calculate the index recording price reductions.

The prices of beverage and tobacco have declined 0.35 per cent, transport services 0.34 per cent, and culture, entertainment and tourism Products by 0.47 per cent, the HCM City office said.

The food and catering service group, the most-weighted group in the basket, was down 0.6 per cent.

The city report said prices of housing, water and electricity have inched up 0.38 per cent and that of gas and home appliances by 0.07 per cent this month.

There has no been no price change in medicine and healthcare services, post and telecom services and education, the report said.

Overall, the CPI growth rate in HCM City for the first three months of the year was up 1.15 per cent against the last three months of 2012.

March's index picked up 2.85 per cent over the same period last year, the lowest year-on-year growth since 2003.

Five of the eleven commodity groups in the CPI-calculation basket this month posted high year-on-year growth compared to the overall index, with education services soaring 7.63 per cent, transport 5.52 per cent, footwear, hat and textiles 4.84 per cent, and beverages and tobacco 3.67 per cent, the HCM City bureau said.

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