Viet Nam’s consumer price index (CPI) in the first five months of the year edged up 2.25 percent year-on-year while core inflation rose by 1.1 percent, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

A customer is shopping at Winmart supermarket. (Photo: VNA)

The CPI in May increased by 0.38 percent compared with the previous month, with the urban area experiencing a hike of 0.34 percent and the rural area 0.42 percent.

The GSO attributed the CPI hike to a surge in fuel prices which have been revised up 13 times through five months of this year, resulting in a 1.8 percentage point increase in the overall CPI.

The upturn of gas prices was also a reason, which contributed to a 0.38 percentage point rise in the index.

An increasing demand for dining out of local residents and a rise in the prices of construction and input materials also made a negative impact on the CPI.

Meanwhile, prices of food dropped 0.73 percent year-on-year with that of pork plunging 20.8 percent, causing the overall CPI to fall by 0.16 percentage point, it said.

The prices of education and telecommunication services, which declined by 3.71 percent and 0.56 percent, respectively, also pushed the CPI down.

The GSO said that the May core inflation increased by 0.29 compared to the previous month and 1.61 percent over the same period last year.

Source: VNA