|
Inflation hits 7.6% year-on-year
The consumer price index in January sees an increase of 1.36 per cent, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 7.62 per cent amidst price hikes for many commodities, as demand skyrockets during Tet (Lunar New Year), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
According to GSO experts, the CPI this month hit a record increase over the past 10 years, just after January 2008, with the rate reaching an all-time high of 2.38 percent due to the global economic crisis.
January index was also higher than earlier estimates by the Government’s Market Management Team, which put it at only 1-1.2 percent.
Do Thi Ngoc, a senior official of the GSO’s trade and pricing department, attributed the inflation to rising demands, as people were stocking up for the holidays.
Foods and foodstuff, accounting for up to 40 percent of the goods basket, saw a high increase at 2.11 percent.
Another reason for the CPI hike was rising demands for rice exports, because the companies signed contracts to export 2.3 million tonnes, of which they needed nearly 1.4 million tonnes of rice to be delivered in January, according to the GSO.
Prices of three other commodities - beverages, clothing, housing and construction materials in January also rose by 1.1 percent, 1.2 percent and 1.7 perent, respectively.
Prices of services for weddings and cosmetics also went up by 2.24 per cent, while healthcare services increased by 3-4.5 percent due to new policies by the Government.
GSO experts also attributed the price hikes to the fact that the Government stopped interest rate subsidies for short-term loans of local producers, who consequently had to suffer higher rates, pushing up the prices of the final products.
However, the lower price of gold and the depreciation of the US dollar partly contributed to easing the price hikes. Gold prices reduced by 2.94 per cent and the US dollar eased by 0.11 percent.
VietNamNet, VietNamNews
|
