Vietnam's inflation accelerates to 4.72% in May

Compared with the previous month, consumer prices went up by 0.2%, significantly higher than the slight increase of 0.08% in April, according to a report released by the GSO on May 24.

The Vietnamese Government aims to keep inflation below 7% for the whole of 2014.

The latest data show that utility and construction materials increased more than any other commodity in May, up 0.43% against the previous month, owing to higher power consumption on cooling as temperatures rose to as high as 40⁰C in many provinces.

Transport costs rose by 0.36% month on month as recent petrol price hikes began to produce an effect.

Food costs and restaurant services, which account for the largest proportion of the commodity basket used to calculate the consumer price index (CPI), also rose by 0.17% compared with the previous month.

In May, the prices of gold and US dollars continued their downward trend from the previous month, dropping by 0.85% and 0.04% respectively.

(Source: Nhandan Online)