Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in June increased by 0.3 percent from the previous month, driving the total in the first half of 2014 up 1.38 percent.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) announced on June 24 that the figure in this month increased 4.98 percent compared the same period last year.

Prices in June rose by 0.01-0.74 percent in 10 out of the 11 categories of the goods used to calculate the CPI. The highest was recorded in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare services, while education registered the lowest price increase.

Head of the GSO’s Price Statistics Nguyen Duc Thang said the slight rise of CPI this month was because of the stable price of essential commodities in the world and the abundant supply of foods and foodstuff.

Prices of restaurants and catering services in June, which account for almost 40 percent in the goods basket, were up by only 0.28 percent.

Other groups such beverages and cigarettes; garments and textiles and footwear; housing and construction material; household appliances; and transport services also posted price increases, between 0.2 to 0.61 percent.

Meanwhile, the gold price dropped by 0.12 percent and the USD price saw a rise of 0.49 percent this month.-VNA