Vietnam ’s consumer price index (CPI) in June rose 0.55 percent compared to the previous month, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The nation recorded a CPI increase of 2.68 percent in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 10.27 percent.

Commodity groups that saw the highest price rise include housing and construction material, up 1.45 percent, transport and post-telecom services, up 1.35 percent and food, up 0.67 percent, while the education sector experienced the lowest increase with 0.07 percent.

According to Deputy Head of the GSO Trade and Price Department Nguyen Duc Thang, strong increases in the prices of essential goods such as food, petrol, fuel and input materials have put pressure on the prices of other goods and services.

Additionally, the effectiveness of the Government’s stimulus package--which drove total retail sales of goods and services in June up 2.3 percent over May--resulted in a slight increase in the CPI./.