May CPI Rises 0.16%: Housing and Utilities Drive Inflation

In May, Vietnam experienced a rise of 0.16% in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) when compared to April, largely attributed to increased expenses related to rent, home repair supplies, utilities, and meals eaten outside the home.

In the initial five-month span of 2025, the index showed an increase of 3.21% compared to the corresponding timeframe in the previous year. Meanwhile, core inflation rose by 3.1%. These figures were released by the National Statistics Office affiliated with the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

Shoppers browse through a supermarket in Hanoi in January 2025. Image courtesy of VnExpress/Hoang Giang

During the five-month period, food and hospitality services witnessed an increase of 3.83% compared to the previous year. Pork prices escalated by 13.53%, attributed to limited availability and increased demand during festive seasons.

The cost of housing and utilities rose by 5.43%, contributing an increase of 1.02 percentage points to the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI). Rents went up by 6.84%, electricity expenses surged by 4.93%, and home maintenance supplies increased by 2.71%.

There was a significant increase of 14.07% in healthcare services and pharmaceuticals, primarily due to an updated pricing directive issued by the Ministry of Health. Additionally, household equipment and appliances experienced a price escalation of 1.58%.

In the meantime, transportation expenses decreased by 3.97%, and fuel prices went down by 13.39%. Additionally, postal and telecommunication services experienced a minor decline of 0.49%, largely because of reduced pricing for earlier-model mobile devices.

The price of gold rose following international patterns. Within the country, gold prices experienced an increase of 10.47% from April to May and climbed almost 45.95% compared to the same period last year. Throughout the first five months, domestic gold prices jumped by 35.37%.

Globally, the U.S. dollar index dropped by 0.82%, reflecting market expectations of an impending reduction in interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Conversely, in Vietnam, heightened demand for international trade transactions caused the May index to rise by 0.68% from April, with a yearly increase of 2.69% and a comparison showing a gain of 2.59% since December 2024. Overall, during the initial five months of the year, the U.S. dollar index climbed by an average of 3.35%.

According to the National Statistics Office, core inflation increased by 0.33% from one month to the next and climbed 3.33% compared to the same period last year in May.

0/Post a Comment/Comments