According to a report released by the General Statistics Office ( Ministry of Finance ) on the morning of April 6th, the CPI for the first quarter of 2025 increased compared to the same period last year, with 8 indicators showing an increase and 3 indicators showing a decrease.
Specifically, the price index for the group of medicines and medical services increased the most, rising by 14.4% (contributing 0.78 percentage points to the overall CPI increase) due to the adjustment of medical service prices according to Circular No. 21 dated October 17, 2024, of the Ministry of Health .
Next, the price index for housing, electricity, water, fuel, and construction materials increased by 5.11% (contributing 0.96 percentage points to the overall CPI) due to rising prices of cement, iron, steel, and sand, driven by increased input material costs, and higher rental prices.
Specifically, the price index for household electricity increased by 5.11% (contributing 0.17 percentage points to the overall CPI increase) due to increased electricity demand and the adjustment of the average retail electricity price by Vietnam Electricity Corporation from October 11, 2024.
The price index for medicines and medical services saw the highest increase, rising by 14.4% in the first quarter of 2025. (Illustrative image: Government Newspaper)
The price index for food and food services increased by 3.78% (contributing 1.27 percentage points to the overall CPI increase), of which the price index for pork increased by 12.49% (impacting a 0.42 percentage point increase in the overall CPI) due to supply shortages while consumer demand increased during holidays; the price index for rice increased by 0.97%; and the price index for fresh poultry increased by 1.06%.
The price index for the culture, entertainment, and tourism group increased by 2.16% (contributing 0.1 percentage point to the overall CPI increase).
In addition, several factors contributed to curbing the CPI increase rate in the first quarter of 2025. Specifically, the transportation group index decreased by 2.4% (contributing to a 0.23 percentage point decrease in the overall CPI), including a 9.73% decrease in gasoline prices and a 6.06% decrease in passenger rail transport services.
The education price index decreased by 0.61% (contributing to a 0.04 percentage point decrease in the overall CPI) because in the 2024-2025 school year, some provinces and centrally-administered cities waived or reduced tuition fees for eligible students as stipulated.
The postal and telecommunications price index decreased by 0.59% (contributing to a 0.02 percentage point decrease in the overall CPI) due to a drop in the price of older generation phones as businesses implemented discount and stimulus programs for smartphone models that had been on the market for some time.
On average in the first quarter of 2025, core inflation increased by 3.01% compared to the same period last year, lower than the overall average CPI (3.22% increase), mainly due to the price of food, electricity, and medical services, which are factors contributing to the increase in CPI but are excluded from the list of items used to calculate core inflation.
Regarding merchandise exports in March 2025, the General Statistics Office reported that the value reached US$38.51 billion, an increase of 23.8% compared to the previous month and a 14.5% increase compared to the same period last year.
Overall, in the first quarter of 2025, merchandise exports reached US$102.84 billion, an increase of 10.6% compared to the same period last year. Of this, the domestic economic sector accounted for US$29.02 billion, an increase of 15.0%, representing 28.2% of total exports; the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) accounted for US$73.82 billion, an increase of 9.0%, representing 71.8%.
Regarding goods imports in March 2025, they reached US$36.88 billion, an increase of 12.9% compared to the previous month and a 19% increase compared to the same period last year.
Overall in the first quarter of 2025, merchandise imports reached US$99.68 billion, an increase of 17% compared to the same period last year. Of this, the domestic economic sector accounted for US$36.78 billion, an increase of 19.3%; and the foreign-invested sector accounted for US$62.9 billion, an increase of 15.8%.
The merchandise trade balance in March showed a surplus of US$1.63 billion. For the first quarter of 2025 as a whole, the merchandise trade balance recorded a surplus of US$3.16 billion (compared to a surplus of US$7.7 billion in the same period last year). Of this, the domestic economic sector had a trade deficit of US$7.76 billion; while the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) had a trade surplus of US$10.92 billion.
In the first quarter of 2025, service exports are estimated at US$7.58 billion, an increase of 21.7% compared to the same period last year; service imports are estimated at US$9.22 billion (including US$3.16 billion in transportation and insurance service fees for imported goods), an increase of 18%. The service trade deficit in the first quarter of 2025 is US$1.64 billion.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/lam-phat-quy-i-2025-tang-3-01-ar936042.html
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