CPI increased by 0.31% mainly due to higher electricity prices and medical services.

The price index of food and catering services continued to increase by 0.21% in the month compared to December 2023, contributing to an increase of 0.07 percentage points in the overall CPI. (Photo: Vietnam+)

In the first month of the year, some localities increased medical service prices according to Circular No. 22/2023/TT-BYT, Vietnam Electricity Group adjusted the average retail electricity price and domestic rice prices continued to increase following export rice prices.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Oanh, Director of the Price Statistics Department (General Statistics Office) said these were the main reasons for the consumer price index (CPI) in January increasing by 0.31% compared to the previous month, of which urban areas increased by 0.33%; rural areas increased by 0.29%).

9/11 commodity groups increased in price

On January 29, the General Statistics Office reported that January inflation increased by 3.37% compared to the same period last year and core inflation increased by 2.72%. The basket of main consumer goods and services used to calculate the CPI has 9 groups increasing in price and 2 groups decreasing in price.

Of these, the group of medicines and medical services increased the most with 1.02%, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.05 percentage points. Notably, the price index of medicines increased by 0.09% and outpatient medical examination and treatment services increased by 0.89%. In addition, inpatient medical examination and treatment services increased by 1.67%.

Next, the housing and construction materials group increased by 0.56%, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.11 percentage points. Ms. Oanh shared that the reason for the increase in household electricity prices in January was 1.29% compared to the previous month, plus the increased demand for electricity for heating when the weather turned cold. In addition, the price of home maintenance materials also increased by 0.53%, home repair services increased by 0.33%, and gas increased by 1.69%.

In third place, the transportation group increased by 0.41%, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.04 percentage points. The main reason shared by Ms. Oanh was that the gasoline price index increased by 0.79% and the diesel price increased by 1.39%, causing the public transportation service price index to increase by 3.64%...

Food prices continue to “climb”

The report also said that the price index of food and catering services in the first month of 2024 continued to increase by 0.21% compared to December 2023, contributing to an increase of 0.07 percentage points in the overall CPI. Of which, food prices increased by 1.74%, and eating out increased by 0.3%. The food group alone decreased slightly by 0.09%, contributing to a decrease of 0.02 percentage points in the overall CPI.

In the food group, the price index of rice increased by 2.36%. Specifically, the price of regular rice increased by 2.49%; the price of delicious rice increased by 2% and the price of sticky rice increased by 1.66%.

Ms. Oanh said that domestic rice prices have increased following export prices, as many countries around the world have increased their import demand, especially traditional markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia and China. Meanwhile, global rice supply continues to decrease due to the increasingly profound impact of climate change. Moreover, India has not eased its ban on white rice exports until the end of 2024. In addition, consumer demand for delicious rice and glutinous rice is increasing as the Lunar New Year approaches.

Specifically, the price of ordinary rice in the month fluctuated from 14,800-18,500 VND/kg, the price of Bac Huong rice ranged from 20,100-23,500 VND/kg, the price of delicious Nang Thom rice from Dao market ranged from 21,900-23,800 VND/kg, the price of sticky rice ranged from 26,700-40,800 VND/kg.

“Rice prices have increased and demand for preparations for Tet has increased, affecting the price index of other food items such as vermicelli, pho, and rice paper,” said Ms. Oanh.

For the food group, the decrease was mainly concentrated in some items, the price of fresh, dried and processed vegetables decreased by 2.25%; the group of edible oils and fats also decreased by 0.09%, mainly due to the decrease in vegetable oil prices. However, the pork price index still increased slightly by 0.02% compared to the previous month. Specifically, pork prices increased by 1,000-2,000 VND/kg in the days leading up to Tet Giap Thin. As of January 25, the price of live pigs in the general market nationwide fluctuated between 52,000-57,000 VND/kg.

On that basis, the report shows that core inflation in January increased by 0.21% compared to the previous month and increased by 2.72% compared to the same period last year. Thus, core inflation increased by 2.72% compared to the same period last year and was lower than the average CPI (up 3.37%). According to Ms. Oanh, the main reason is that the prices of medical andeducational services only affect the general CPI increase and are excluded from the list of goods for calculating core inflation.

During the month, domestic gold prices fluctuated in the opposite direction to world gold prices. As of January 25, the average world gold price was at 2,014.85 USD/ounce, down 1.23% compared to the previous month due to the stronger USD and the unpredictable timing of the US Federal Reserve (FED) interest rate cut.

“However, people's demand for gold shopping before Tet increased and this caused the domestic gold price index to increase by 2.55% compared to December 2023 and increase by 15.43% compared to the same period last year,” Ms. Oanh said./.

According to vietnamplus.vn

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/cpi-tang-031-chu-yeu-do-gia-dien-va-dich-vu-y-te-dat-do-hon-post923568.vnp

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