>> State Bank of Vietnam to lower interest rates if CPI up 1.4 percent
>> CPI rose 1.74% for the month, 12.17% this year
The consumer price index (CPI), from January to February, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City increased by 1.98% and 1.61% respectively.
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According to the Hanoi Statistics Office, food and restaurant services witnessed the highest increase, of 4.17%, followed by beverages and cigarettes, which rose 2.25%.
Footwear and other apparel, tourism, recreation services, post and telecom saw rises of below 1%.
The Ho Chi Minh City Statistics Office said that in February, prices of beverages and tobacco saw the largest monthly increase of 3.45%. Entertainment and tourism were not far behind with a 2.58% increase. Restaurants saw an overall increase of 2.48%.
The monthly increase of footwear and apparel was below 2%.
This one-month rise in the CPI in Vietnam’s two biggest cities - especially in food and catering services - could be attributed to high demand over Tet.
At the same time, the strong USD in relation to the VND has had indirect impacts on the prices of many goods and services. Additionally, the 15.28% increase in the electricity prices just approved by the prime minister, beginning in March, would put more pressure on many producers in the coming months.
Nguyen Thi Hong Huong, Director of the supermarket chain of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), was cited in the Tuoi Tre newspaper as saying that garment firms in Vietnam are likely to increase their prices by 10%-20% in the first quarter of this year, instead of waiting until the second quarter.
The Vietnamese National Assembly has set a goal to keep inflation under 7% this year.
