Purchasing power hits the buffers

Purchasing power hits the buffers

The modest growth of retail sales of goods and services in the first five months of 2014, holding at 6 per cent, suggests that domestic purchasing has not considerably improved.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), retail sales in the first five months was estimated to reach VND178.9 trillion, or US$56.14 billion, an increase of 11 per cent over the same period last year

Further, said Vu Manh Ha from the GSO, the growth of purchasing power in the first five months had 5.5 per cent higher than the same period of last year. This modest increase was attributed to the slight increase of the consumer price index (CPI) at 0.2 per cent in May 2014.

The total retail sales of goods reached $42.1 billion, accounting for a proportion of the 75.2 per cent of the total growth, at 8.5 per cent.

The increase of goods was mainly attributed to the necessary items for daily living, such as food and home appliances.

Ha said, generally, that purchasing power in the first five months has not improved due to the publics limited incomes and it was difficult to return to the total growth of 12 to 17 per cent, as seen prior to 2011.

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