November's consumer price index (CPI) inched up 0.47 percent from the previous month, much lower than 0.85 percent in October and 2.2 percent in September, according to the General Statistics Office.
Director of the office's Consumer Price Index Department Nguyen Duc Thang attributed the slowdown to the 0.08 percent decrease of foodstuff and catering services, which accounted for 40 percent of goods used to calculate the index.
The cost of eight out of 11 key commodities saw a slight surge ranging from 0.03 to 0.53 percent, Thang said.
In November, medicine and healthcare services were the most heavily inflated, rising 5.16 percent against the previous month in the wake of the Government's decision to allow the healthcare sector to raise hospital fees a few months ago. Rising for a fifth consecutive month, November's prices were 45.03 percent higher than December last year.
Textile and garments also rose 0.83 percent as the country entered the cold season, the office said.
With CPI slowing for the past two months, Thang forecast that the country would succeed in keeping the index in single digits this year, despite the fact the cost of goods often went up in the fourth quarter.
However, experts recommended that the Government and relevant ministries and agencies still needed to closely monitor market prices and balance supply and demand of essential goods and services to stabilise the market and control prices in the final months of the year.
