October’s CPI reaches three-year high
October’s CPI reaches three-year high
Viet Nam’s consumer price index (CPI) in October increased by 0.59 per cent against September – the highest rate in the last three years, driven by soaring pork and fuel prices, data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed on Tuesday. 
CPI in the last 10 months rose 2.79 per cent.
According to Do Thi Ngoc, director of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department, high inflation rate in October was caused by the soaring price of pork, which climbed 7.85 per cent in the month after African swine fever decimated pork supplies.
Pork was the main ingredient in Vietnamese meals and rising pork prices contributed 0.33 per cent to October’s CPI increase, Ngoc said.
African swine fever had killed nearly 5.7 million pigs weighing 327,000 tonnes as of October 22. Viet Nam’s national pig herd has fallen 20 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The deadly swine disease was expected to continue depressing pork supplies towards the end of this year when many big festivals take place, including the New Year and Lunar New Year holidays, Ngoc said.
In addition, gasoline and oil prices which rose 2.22 per cent in October also contributed significantly to rising CPI. After two adjustments in October, A95 gasoline price increased VND650 (three US cents) per litre, and E5 gasoline went up VND360 per litre, contributing 0.1 per cent to the overall CPI rise.
Since early this month, the domestic gas price has also increased to VND24,000 ($1.03) per 12kg cylinder, up 7.6 per cent against September, following rises in the world gas prices which surged $72.5 per tonne to average $427.5 in October.
GSO data revealed 10 out of 11 groups of commodities saw prices increase compared to the previous month, of which food and foodstuff grew 1.04 per cent; housing and construction materials was up 0.53 per cent; and traffic up 0.99 per cent.
Other commodities including beverages and cigarettes, garments, footwear and hats, education, culture, entertainment and tourism, medicine and healthcare, and household appliances and goods increased by less than 0.3 per cent.
Only the price of postal services and telecommunications decreased by 0.06 per cent.
In October, the gold price index was down 0.57 per cent, in line with downward global trends which fell 1.26 per cent in the month due to positive signs from the US-China trade negotiations and the Fed possibly cutting rates to support the domestic economy. The domestic gold price is hovering around VND42 million per tael (1.2 ounces).
Meanwhile, the US dollar increased slightly by 0.03 per cent compared to the previous month thanks to abundant foreign currency reserves at the State Bank of Viet Nam. The foreign exchange rate between the US dollar and Vietnamese dong was stable, averaging around VND23,227 in October.
