On August 3, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said the monthly decline was driven by lower petrol, diesel and food prices. Consumer prices fell 0.13 per cent in urban areas and 0.12 per cent in rural areas compared with June.
Despite the monthly decline, the CPI in July was still 3.08 per cent higher than in December 2025 and 4.45 per cent above the level recorded a year earlier.
On average, the CPI increased 4.39 per cent in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, while core inflation rose by 4.19 per cent.
According to the GSO, eight of the 11 main groups of consumer goods and services recorded price increases in July, while three groups saw prices decline.
The largest downward pressure on the overall CPI came from the transport group, which fell 2.02 per cent, reducing the headline index by 0.2 percentage points. The decline reflected a 4.35 per cent drop in domestic petrol prices and a 9.18 per cent fall in diesel prices following recent fuel price adjustments.
In contrast, the miscellaneous goods and services group recorded the strongest increase, rising 1.96 per cent, mainly due to a 7.9 per cent increase in health insurance contributions following an adjustment to the statutory base salary.
Other categories also posted price increases, with culture, entertainment and tourism services rising 0.52 per cent during the summer travel season, education increasing 0.24 per cent, and beverages and tobacco climbing 0.18 per cent.
Meanwhile, the gold price index fell 3.02 per cent in July, tracking lower global gold prices. However, it remained 51.86 per cent higher on average over the first seven months of the year. The US dollar price index rose 0.18 per cent during the month and was up 1.55 per cent over the seven-month period.
The report said the main contributors to the 4.39 per cent increase in average CPI during the first seven months of the year were housing, utilities, fuel and construction materials, which rose 6.72 per cent; transport, up 5.01 per cent; and food and catering services, which increased 4.77 per cent.
Core inflation rose 0.33 per cent in July from the previous month and 4.63 per cent year on year. Average core inflation for the first seven months remained relatively stable, as it excludes the price volatility of fuel, gas, fresh food and government-administered services.
