HANOI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's consumer price index (CPI) in the first eight months of this year is set to increase 22.14 percent against the same period last year, the country's General Statistics Office said on Monday.

    Among 10 groups of commodities and services used in calculating CPI, prices of food, foodstuffs and related services, are set to see the highest price hike, which is estimated at 35.80 percent.

    Meanwhile, prices of housing and construction materials are forecast to rise 21.88 percent, and those of means of transport and postal and telecommunication services are predicted to increase 14.56 percent.

    CPI is a gauge of the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The percent change in the CPI is a measure of inflation.

    Vietnam had CPI of 12.63 percent in 2007 and 6.6 percent in 2006, according to the statistics office.