April CPI increased slightly by 0.07% due to rising rent and food prices

The above information was announced by the General Statistics Office, Ministry of Finance on May 6.

Pork prices increased by 0.8%, causing the CPI to increase by 0.03 percentage points. Photo: Vietnam+

8 groups of goods and services increased in price

Ms. Nguyen Thu Oanh, Head of the Service and Price Statistics Department, General Statistics Office, said the increase in CPI compared to the previous month was mainly due to the increase in rental housing prices, food prices and eating out.

Detailed data shows that 8/11 major consumer goods and services groups recorded price increases. In addition, two groups decreased in price and one group kept price stable.

Specifically, the food and catering services group had the biggest impact on the overall CPI with an increase of 0.12% compared to the previous month, contributing 0.04 percentage points. Of which, the food group increased by 0.17% compared to the previous month. Typically, pork prices increased by 0.8%, contributing 0.03 percentage points to the CPI increase.

According to Ms. Oanh, the epidemic is still breaking out in some provinces and cities, the supply of smuggled goods is being tightened, many localities have reviewed and planned to relocate or stop the operation of unqualified livestock farms. In addition, the increased demand for pork during the Hung Kings' death anniversary and April 30 - May 1 also contributed to the increase in prices of the product. As of April 30, the price of live pigs nationwide fluctuated between 66,000 - 77,000 VND/kg.

However, the food group recorded a significant decrease of 0.65% compared to the previous month. Notably, rice prices decreased by 0.96% due to abundant supply, stable consumer demand and a decrease in export rice prices when import demand from other countries decreased. In the market, the price of ordinary rice usually fluctuates from 15,100-18,000 VND/kg; the price of Bac Huong rice ranges from 20,900-23,000 VND/kg; the price of Nang Thom delicious ordinary rice at Dao market ranges from 22,300-24,000 VND/kg; the price of sticky rice ranges from 26,900-41,000 VND/kg.

In addition, the beverage and tobacco group also had a high increase of 0.11% compared to the previous month due to increased production costs and consumer demand. The garment, hat, and footwear group increased by 0.06% compared to the previous month due to increased demand in the summer.

Notably, the group of housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction material prices had the highest increase, up 0.62% compared to the previous month, affecting the overall CPI increase by 0.12 percentage points. Specifically, house rental prices increased sharply by 0.57% due to high real estate prices, leading to increased demand for rental housing. Moreover, the price of construction materials, investment and operating costs increased, causing many homeowners to increase rental prices to offset costs. In addition, the price of housing maintenance materials increased by 0.62% due to the increase in the price of sand, stone, steel, bricks and tiles due to the impact of raw material import costs and public investment stimulus policies.

The upcoming summer weather also caused household electricity prices to increase by 1%, mainly due to increased electricity demand in southern localities during hot weather, and household water prices also increased by 1.57%.

Gold price "dancing"

During the month, domestic gold prices fluctuated strongly following world gold prices, increasing by 10.54% compared to the previous month. Ms. Oanh said that due to prolonged geopolitical instability, massive gold purchases from central banks and expectations that the US Federal Reserve (FED) would cut interest rates. In addition, domestic exchange rates fluctuated in the opposite direction to world prices, with USD/VND increasing by 0.97% compared to the previous month.

According to the General Statistics Office, some of the main factors that increased the CPI in the first four months of the year compared to the same period last year were mainly the food and catering services group with an increase of 3.86%, contributing 1.3 percentage points to the overall CPI. Of which, pork prices increased by 13.46% due to limited supply and high consumer demand during the holidays and Tet, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.46 percentage points. In addition, the housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials group also increased by 5.26%, due to increased rental housing prices and input material prices, contributing 0.99 percentage points to the overall CPI.

In addition, the group of medicines and medical services increased by 14.19%, contributing 0.76 percentage points to the general CPI due to the adjustment of medical service prices according to Circular No. 21/2024/TT-BYT. The group of household equipment and appliances increased by 1.57%, affecting the general CPI increase by 0.11 percentage points.

On the contrary, a number of factors contributed to the CPI reduction during this period. Specifically, the transportation group decreased by 3.55%, causing the overall CPI to decrease by 0.34 percentage points, mainly due to a 12.43% decrease in gasoline prices. The post and telecommunications group adjusted down by 0.56%, causing the overall CPI to decrease by 0.02 percentage points.

With the above factors, the core inflation in April increased by 0.21% compared to March and increased by 3.14% compared to the same period last year. On average, in the first 4 months of the year, core inflation increased by 3.05% compared to the same period last year and was lower than the average CPI (increased by 3.2%). This shows that the prices of food, foodstuffs, electricity and medical services are the main factors affecting the increase in CPI, but they are in the group of goods excluded from the list of core inflation calculations.

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/kinh-te/202505/cpi-thang-tu-tang-nhe-007-do-gia-thue-nha-thuc-pham-nong-len-0af23fb/