CPI data shows minor bump in April prices

CPI data shows minor bump in April prices

The country's consumer price index (CPI) in April inched up 0.08 per cent against the previous month thanks to the abundant sources of supply amid low demand.

Deputy Director of the General Statistics Office's (GSO) CPI Department Do Thi Ngoc said that the slight rise of the CPI this month was in line with the country's price-changing rule for the past 17 years, when the CPI often inched up or down in April only.

However, the office noted that compared with December last year, the index rose 0.88 per cent, the lowest rise for the past 13 years. Except for an acceleration of 9.64 per cent in 2011, the CPI in the 2002-13 period averaged between 2.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent.

The marginal rise in April was because the prices of many necessities fell or rose slightly, the office said.

It said that the prices of food, which accounts for 40 per cent of the goods basket used to calculate the CPI, declined by 0.26 per cent.

The prices of housing and construction materials, including rent, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials, also slid by 0.56 per cent, while the prices of both postal services and telecommunication baskets eased by 0.14 per cent, the data showed.

Many other goods and services also reported a marginal rise in April, such as education which was up 0.06 per cent; medicine and health care which went up by 0.04 per cent; and culture, entertainment, and tourism which rose by 0.02 per cent.

During the month, the prices of traffic services reported the highest hike of 0.33 per cent. The garment, footwear and hat sector followed with a rise of 0.26 per cent in prices.

Not included in the CPI components, the gold prices in April dropped by 1.04 per cent, month on month, while the US dollar prices edged down by 0.06 per cent, month on month.

In urban areas, this month's CPI edged up by 0.06 per cent, month on month, while in rural areas, it was a rise of 0.11 per cent. 

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