Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) The CPI picked up compared to 2020 largely due to a 31.74percent surge in fuel prices this year which made up a 1.14 percentagepoint increase in the overall CPI, GSO General Director Nguyen Thi Huong told apress conference in Hanoi on December 29.
The CPI hike was also driven by domestic retail prices ofgas which have been revised up nine times throughout the year, expanding25.89 percent year-on-year, she noted, adding that it contributed to a 0.38percentage point rise in the CPI.
Huong also noted the upturns of rice, construction materialsand education service prices this year, which advanced 5.79 percent, 7.03percent and 1.87 percent, respectively, against last year.
Meanwhile, prices of food dropped 0.54 percent year-on-year,with that of pork plunging 10.52 percent, causing the overall CPI to fall 0.12percentage point, she said.
Electricity price declined 0.89 percent as part of VietnamElectricity (EVN)’s aid package for customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, pushingthe CPI down by 0.03 percentage point.
The pandemic has forced people to refrain from travelling,resulting in contractions of 21.15 percent in air fares and 2.32 percent inholiday packages.
The core inflation grew by 0.81 percent in 2021, the lowestsince 2011, the GSO director said.
In December, the index slid 0.18 percent month-on-month butincreased 1.81 percent from a year earlier./.
VNA
