HANOI, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The consumer price index (CPI) of Vietnam in January 2017 rose 0.46 percent over December 2016 and 5.22 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) on Thursday.
Of 11 items in the CPI calculation basket, the prices of nine groups increased, with the highest rise recorded in transportation, at 3.21 percent compared to the previous month.
The price of pharmaceuticals and healthcare service was up 1.01 percent, while that of housing and construction materials increased 0.57 percent, goods and other services, up 0.48 percent, and education, up 0.47 percent.
Meanwhile, a downturn was seen in groups of food and catering service as well as post and telecommunications with 0.24 percent and 0.15 percent, respectively.
Do Thi Ngoc, deputy head of the Department for Price Statistics under the GSO, was quoted by the state-run news agency VNA as saying that high demand for goods at the end of the lunar year pushed the prices of food, beverage, and clothes up.
Ngoc also attributed the increase in the food price to high demand before the Lunar New Year festival and an extended rice trade deal between Vietnam and the Philippines.
Rising healthcare service price in a number of districts in Vietnam's southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City was the reason behind the rise of the service price, the official added.
At the same time, some centrally-run cities also raised tuition fees, leading to a rise in the education service while three consecutive rises in the fuel price during Dec. 2016 and Jan. 2017, along with the high travelling demand during the month also caused the public transportation price to rise, said Ngoc.
The GSO also forecast that February's CPI will continue rising as the prices of food, foodstuff, entertainment, and catering services go up during the festive first lunar month.
