Inflation drops to 3.62% despite sharp monthly rise in consumer prices

The General Statistics Office (GSO) has reported that consumer prices in September went up by 0.4%, the largest one-month rise since March.

According to the GSO's latest data, a sharp increase in September consumer prices was primarily driven by a 6.38% rise in education costs as schools and colleges hiked their tuition fees and a new school year boosted spending on stationery items.

Earlier reports showed that education costs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City shot up by 8.55% and 19.02% compared with the previous month, respectively.

In September, transport costs fell by 1.85% as a result of several petrol price cuts over the past two months. Since July 28, petrol prices have been cut five times by a total of more than VND1,900 per litre.

Food costs and restaurant services, which made the biggest contribution to CPI, rose by 0.22% against the previous month while utility bills and building materials as a single group fell by a slight 0.15%.

The prices of gold and the US dollar, two items excluded from the basket to calculate CPI, dropped by 1.66% and 0.15%, respectively.

(Source: Nhandan Online)