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Consumer prices keep climbing
The consumer price index (CPI) in June increased by 0.55 percent, higher than the increase of 0.44 percent the previous month. The high CPI increase has startled economists and sparked worries about high inflation.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) announced this morning, June 24, that compared to December 2008, the CPI this month increased by 2.68 percent.
The average price index in the first six months of the year has increased by 10.27 percent in comparison with the same period of last year.
Though having increased by 0.55 percent only, the second biggest increase in the last six months (it was 1.17 percent in February 2009), the CPI in the second quarter has continuously increased (it rose 0.35 percent in April, 0.44 percent in May).
The big increases have worried economists as well.
Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), told the press yesterday, June 23, that there still exist uncertainties, including the possible return of high inflation.
Thanh has warned that inflation in 2009 may be as high as 8-9 percent.
Dr Nguyen Minh Phong, Head of the Economics Research Division under the Hanoi Socio-Economic Research and Development, agreed with Thanh.
The expert, who has discussed the worrying price increases of several key products, predicts that inflation may climb to 10 percent by the end of the year if the Government does not take effective measures to prevent it.
Experts have reasons to be concerned. The petrol price increase by 1,000 dong per litre has sparked worries about more wide-scale price increases.
An official from the General Statistics Office said that the petrol price increase will make the CPI increase by 0.25 percent. However, in fact, the petrol price increase has not had big impacts on June’s price index, because the price hike occurred just five days before the CPI was calculated.
As such, the impacts of the petrol price hike will be clearer next month.
Returning to this month’s price index, the previous petrol price increase on May 8 has also been cited as an important factor behind the high CPI.
The General Statistics Office (GSO) will declare the details about prices of 10 categories of main goods and services for June in some days.
VietNamNet, TBKTVN
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