According to the data released by the General Statistics Office on April 29, the increase in gasoline and oil prices in line with global fuel prices was the main reason for the consumer price index (CPI) in April 2024 to increase by 0.07% compared to the previous month.
Thus, compared to December 2023, the CPI in April increased by 1.19% and by 4.4% compared to the same period last year. On average, in the first 4 months of 2024, the CPI increased by 3.93% compared to the same period last year.
In the 0.07% increase of CPI in April 2024 compared to the previous month, there were 8 groups of goods and services with increasing price indexes and 3 groups of goods with decreasing price indexes.
Of the 8 groups of goods and services with increasing price indexes, the transportation group increased the most with 1.95% (causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.19 percentage points). This group had a high increase mainly due to the increase in domestic gasoline prices by 4.78%; diesel prices increased by 2.01% due to the impact of price adjustments during the month.
Besides, the fee for driving licenses increased by 0.26%; the price of vehicle maintenance services increased by 0.47%; vehicle parking services increased by 1.09% due to high demand. Air passenger transport prices increased by 10.42%; waterway increased by 0.06%; road increased by 0.13%; bus increased by 0.21% and taxi increased by 0.56% due to the increase in gasoline and oil prices. In particular, new car prices decreased by 0.24%; car rental services, self-driving motorbikes decreased by 0.1%; luggage delivery services decreased by 0.03%.
The group of medicines and medical services increased at the second highest rate, by 0.92%, due to the changing weather, causing pathogenic viruses to thrive, and the number of cases of pneumonia, chickenpox, and hand, foot and mouth disease increased rapidly, leading to an increased demand for drugs that boost the immune system.
Among them, the price of pain relievers, antipyretics, and anti-inflammatories increased by 0.19%; the group of anti-allergic drugs and cases of hypersensitivity increased by 0.13%; the group of cardiovascular drugs and some other items increased by 0.07%.
The group of other goods and services increased by 0.27% mainly due to the price increase of personal items (increased by 0.6%). Of which, the price of jewelry increased by 5.4% following the domestic gold price; wristwatch and jewelry repair services increased by 0.42%; personal services increased by 0.52%; celebratory services increased by 0.12%, etc.
In April, a noteworthy factor was that among the 3 groups of goods and services with decreasing price indexes, the education group decreased by 2.93% compared to the previous month, contributing to a decrease in the overall CPI by 0.18 percentage points, of which education services decreased by 3.32% .
The main reason was that on December 31, 2023, the Government issued Decree No. 97/2023/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP dated August 27, 2021 of the Government, requesting localities to maintain stable tuition fees from the school year 2023-2024 at the same level as the tuition fees for the school year 2021-2022 for public preschool education and general education, accordingly, some schools have adjusted the tuition fees down after collecting them in accordance with Decree No. 81/2021/ND-CP.
According to the data released, core inflation in April 2024 increased by 0.17% compared to the previous month and increased by 2.79% compared to the same period last year. On average, in the first 4 months of 2024, core inflation increased by 2.81% compared to the same period last year, lower than the average CPI (increased by 3.93%), mainly due to food prices, gasoline and oil prices, and medical service prices being factors that increased the CPI but were excluded from the calculation of core inflation.
Domestic gold prices fluctuated in the same direction as world gold prices. As of April 25, 2024, the average world gold price was at USD2,322.36/ounce, an increase of 8.54% compared to March 2024 due to escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, driving investors to gold as a safe haven.
In Vietnam, the gold price index in April 2024 increased by 6.95% compared to the previous month; increased by 17.01% compared to December 2023; increased by 28.62% compared to the same period last year; on average, in the first four months of 2024, it increased by 20.75%.
Globally, the US dollar increased due to the US Federal Reserve (FED) not yet giving a specific timeframe for easing monetary policy or cutting interest rates, leading to the value of the USD increasing. As of April 25, 2024, the US dollar index in the international market reached 104.95 points, up 1.4% compared to the previous month.
In Vietnam, the demand for US dollars from businesses importing raw materials and materials increased, and the average US dollar price in the free market was around VND25,120/USD. The US dollar price index in April 2024 increased by 1.2% compared to the previous month; increased by 3.03% compared to December 2023; increased by 6.51% compared to the same period last year; on average, in the first four months of 2024, it increased by 4.6%.
