In the first five months of 2024, the CPI increased by 4.03% year-on-year, while core inflation rose by 2.78%.
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Out of the 0.05% increase in the CPI in May 2024 compared to the previous month, there were 07 groups of goods and services with increasing price indices, 03 groups with decreasing indices, and 01 group with stable prices.
The seven groups of goods and services with increasing price indices include:
– The group of food and catering services increased by 0.38% (contributing to a 0.13 percentage point increase in the overall CPI), including: Cereals decreased by 0.26%; food increased by 0.59% (contributing to a 0.13 percentage point increase in the overall CPI); and dining out increased by 0.14%.
– The group of housing and construction materials increased by 0.38%, mainly due to a 2.11% increase in residential electricity prices, a 0.28% increase in home maintenance material prices, and a 0.23% increase in rental prices. In addition to these items with increasing prices, some items saw decreases: Fuel oil prices decreased by 5.23% due to price adjustments during the month; and gas prices decreased by 1.6% as of May 1, 2024, when domestic gas prices were reduced by 7,300 VND/12 kg after world gas prices fell by 35 USD/ton compared to the previous month, reaching 582.5 USD/ton.
– The group of culture, entertainment, and tourism increased by 0.31%, including a 1.12% increase in package tour prices and a 0.28% increase in guesthouse and hotel prices due to the extended holiday period of April 30-May 1, which led to a higher demand for tourism.
– The group of other goods and services increased by 0.2%, mainly driven by a 0.60% increase in personal items, including a 3.3% rise in jewelry prices following domestic gold prices, a 0.28% increase in administrative and legal services, a 0.12% increase in funeral services, and a 0.09% increase in personal services.
– The group of beverages and tobacco increased by 0.14% due to hot and stuffy weather, leading to a higher consumption of refreshing drinks: Mineral water prices increased by 0.14%; beer prices rose by 0.11%; fruit juice prices went up by 0.09%; and liquor prices increased by 0.01%. Smoking tobacco prices also increased by 0.27% compared to the previous month due to exchange rate fluctuations.
– The group of appliances and household equipment increased by 0.12%, mainly driven by cooling appliances due to the hot weather. Specifically, refrigerator prices rose by 0.7% compared to the previous month, electric irons increased by 0.56%, electric fans went up by 0.38%, and air conditioners became more expensive by 0.3%. On the other hand, prices for blenders and fruit juicers decreased by 0.45%, and water heaters dropped by 0.32% due to promotional programs stimulating consumption.
– The group of medicine and healthcare services increased by 0.01%, mainly due to the hot weather and a rapid increase in the number of cases of measles, chickenpox, and hand-foot-mouth disease, leading to a higher demand for immunity-boosting drugs. Within this group, prices for painkillers, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing drugs rose by 0.18%; vitamin and mineral supplements increased by 0.16%; hormones and endocrine-affecting drugs went up by 0.15%; respiratory drugs rose by 0.11%; anti-infective and antiparasitic drugs increased by 0.1%; while cardiovascular drugs decreased by 0.08%.
The three groups of goods and services with decreasing price indices include:
– The group of postal and telecommunication services decreased by 0.09% as businesses offered promotions on certain mobile phone models, accessories for smart mobile phones, and tablets.
– The group of education decreased by 0.25% (with educational services dropping by 0.3%). This was mainly due to the government’s issuance of Decree No. 97/2023/NĐ-CP on December 31, 2023, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 81/2021/NĐ-CP dated August 27, 2021. This decree requires localities to maintain stable tuition fees for the 2023-2024 school year at the same level as the 2021-2022 school year for public preschool and general education. Consequently, some schools adjusted their tuition fees downward after having previously increased them according to Decree No. 81/2021/NĐ-CP.
– The group of transportation decreased by 1.73% (contributing to a 0.17 percentage point reduction in the overall CPI), mainly due to a 4.72% drop in domestic gasoline prices and a 5.08% decrease in diesel prices resulting from price adjustments during the month. Conversely, some items within this group saw price increases: Transport vehicles rose by 0.11%; taxi fares increased by 0.94%; combined passenger transport went up by 0.22%; water transport rose by 0.18%; and road transport increased by 0.1% due to higher travel demand during the April 30 and May 1 holidays. Additionally, car and motorbike rental fees rose by 0.22%, driving lesson fees increased by 0.1%, and vehicle maintenance service prices went up by 0.33%.
The group of clothing, hats, and footwear maintained stable prices as businesses and trading establishments offered many promotional programs to stimulate consumption at the beginning of the summer season. Ready-made garment prices decreased by 0.02%, while prices for towels, scarves, gloves, belts, and socks fell by 0.08%. Conversely, footwear services increased by 0.4%, clothing services rose by 0.23%, and hat services became more expensive by 0.2%.
Core inflation in May 2024 increased by 0.15% compared to the previous month and by 2.68% over the same period last year.
On average, in the first five months of 2024, core inflation increased by 2.78% compared to the same period in 2023, lower than the overall CPI average increase of 4.03%. This was mainly due to the impact of food, gasoline, educational services, and medical services, which are excluded from the calculation of core inflation.
