Hanoi’s consumer price index (CPI) in May increased by 1.76 percent over last month and 19.08 percent compared with the same period last year, Hanoi Statistics Office (HSO) has announced.

Head of the HSO Cong Xuan Mui said the slowdown in this month’s CPI growth was attributable to the city’s efforts in reducing regular expenditure, selling goods at stable prices and postponing the implementation of a number of projects using State budget capital.

Of the 11 consumption categories, only post and telecom services saw their prices drop in comparison with last month – by 1.73 percent.

The biggest price hikes in the month were seen in the group of housing, electricity, water, fuel and building materials with 2.99 percent, following by food and restaurant services with 2.25 percent and transportation services with 2.23 percent.

Other categories including cultural products, recreation and tourism; education; health care; and home appliances saw month-on-month increases of less than 2 percent.

Economic analysts attributed the price rise of 2.99 percent in the housing, electricity, water, fuel and building materials group to rising gas prices.

Also during the month, the gold price increased 1.62 percent against last month while the US dollar price was down 0.75 percent month-on-month./.