GSO projects 3% CPI growth rate for 2019

The GSO attributed high demands for food, food service, public transport, and tourism in the first two months of 2019, adjusted power prices, higher healthcare costs, elevated educational fees, minimum wage increases to the growth in average CPI growth rate in the first nine months. 

On the other hand, in the January-September period, petro prices were adjusted 18 times including six  price increases, eight price reductions, and four times when the costs were stabilized. Accordingly, petro prices dropped 3.46% against the same period in 2018, serving to reduce CPI by 0.14%. 

In September only, CPI saw a month-on-month increase of 0.32% and a year-on-year growth of 1.98%, up 2.2% against last December. 

In the first nine months, CPI picked up 2.5% against the same period last year. 

In Q3, CPI experienced a year-on-year growth of 2.23%. 

In the ninth month, eight out of 11 groups of goods and services witnessed higher prices including education (up 3.15%), restaurants and food services (up 0.56%), goods and other services (up 0.25%), household utensils (up 0.13%), housing and building materials (up 0.12%), garments, textiles, hats, and footwear (up 0.09%), culture, entertainment, tourism (up 0.06%), beverage and tobacco (up 0.06%). Meanwhile, telecom costs were kept unchanged. Two groups saw price declines including transport (down 1.24%) and healthcare (down 0.01%).

Head of the Consumer Prices Department at the General Statistics Office  Do Thi Ngoc assessed that the preset goal of under 4% CPI growth rate is feasible. There are wide doors for price adjustments such as heath care services./.

By Kim Anh