In August, the consumer price index increased by 0.92%

The General Statistics Office has just announced that the consumer price index (CPI) in August increased by 0.92% compared to the previous month. This is the strongest monthly increase since October 2013.

The reason for the sharp increase in CPI in August was that during the month, 10/11 groups of goods and services increased in price, many of which had quite large increases.

The group of medicines and medical services increased by 2.86% compared to the month when 17 provinces and cities increased medical service prices for people without health insurance cards.

Specifically, the group of Medicines and medical services increased the highest by 2.86% because in the month, 17 provinces and centrally-run cities adjusted the price of medical services for those without health insurance cards according to Circular No. 02/2017/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health, pushing the price of medical services up by 3.72% (causing the CPI to increase by about 0.14%).

The second group is the transportation group with an increase of 2.13% due to the impact of two adjustments to increase gasoline and oil prices on August 4, 2017 and August 19, 2017 (causing the CPI to increase by about 0.2%).

The food and catering services group ranked third with an increase of 1.06% (of which food increased by 0.31%; foodstuff increased by 1.64% due to sharp increases in pork and vegetable prices). However, because it is the group of goods with the largest proportion in the CPI basket, the food group pushed the overall CPI up by 0.37%.

Housing and construction materials increased by 0.93% due to a 1.27% increase in the price of housing maintenance materials; domestic gas prices were adjusted up by 8.91% from the beginning of August; the average price of kerosene in August 2017 increased by 5.14%.

Education group increased by 0.57% (educational services increased by 0.51%) because in the month, 5 provinces and cities implemented the roadmap to increase tuition fees according to Decree No. 86/2015/ND-CP dated October 2, 2015 of the Government.

Other commodity groups increased slightly, such as: Garment, hats, footwear increased by 0.09%; Beverages and tobacco increased by 0.07%; Household equipment and appliances increased by 0.03%; Culture, entertainment and tourism increased by 0.01%; Other goods and services increased by 0.10%.

During the month, only the Post and Telecommunications group decreased by 0.04%.

The consumer price index (CPI) in August increased by 0.92% compared to the previous month.

With such price developments in August, the CPI for the first 8 months of the year increased by 1.23%; and compared to the same period in 2016, it increased by 3.35%. The average CPI for the first 8 months of 2017 increased by 3.84% compared to the average for the same period in 2016.

However, core inflation in August 2017 increased by only 0.10% compared to the previous month and increased by 1.31% compared to the same period last year. The average core inflation in the first 8 months of 2017 increased by 1.47% compared to the average in the same period in 2016.

Regarding the developments of two special commodity groups, the General Statistics Office said that the gold price index in August 2017 increased by 1.11% compared to the previous month; increased by 3.42% compared to December 2016 and decreased by 2.35% compared to the same period last year. The US dollar price index in August 2017 decreased by 0.03% compared to the previous month; decreased by 0.06% compared to December 2016 and increased by 1.83% compared to the same period in 2016.

Although the average CPI in the first 8 months of 2017 increased by only 3.84% compared to the same period in 2016, still lower than the 4% target set by the National Assembly, the rapid acceleration of inflation has made experts worried about this target.

This is because prices tend to increase in the last months of the year, while many localities will continue to adjust the prices of medical and educational services according to the roadmap. External risks are also very high when gasoline prices can increase again, the USD can also recover if the Fed continues to raise interest rates...

Therefore, it is still necessary to be very careful with inflation.

According to Banking Times