HÀ NỘI — The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.09 per cent in October against the previous month and 2.47 per cent year-on-year, the slowest growth rates in 2016-2020, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Among 11 groups of products and services in the CPI basket, declines were recorded in the groups of restaurant and catering services (0.13 per cent); transportation (0.08 per cent); post and telecommunication services (0.03 per cent); and cultural, entertainment and tourism products and services (0.18 per cent).

Meanwhile, six groups that saw higher prices were education service (1.52 per cent); houses and building materials (0.29 per cent); property maintenance materials and services (0.29 per cent); beverage and tobacco (0.08 per cent); garment, hat and footwear (0.06 per cent); and other goods and services (0.09 per cent).

Đỗ Thị Ngọc, head of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department, said the rise in October’s CPI was fueled by a surge in tuition fees for the 2020-2021 academic year in nine centrally-run cities and provinces, high prices of vegetables due to the impacts of the sixth and seventh storms, and increased gas prices to keep up with swings in the global market.

There were some factors that curbed the CPI uptrend, including a decline in pork prices (2.84 per cent) and petrol prices (0.81 per cent).

In October, local gold prices moved in tandem with global gold prices, which underwent erratic fluctuations ahead of the US presidential election and the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average gold price on the domestic market in October decreased by 1.1 per cent compared to the previous month. The price for SJC gold, a popular local brand, fluctuated at around VNĐ5.37 million (US$228.5) per tael.

The VND/USD exchange rate rose 0.07 per cent to VNĐ23,275 per dollar.

According to the GSO, core inflation (CPI excluding food items, energy products and commodities under State management like medical and educational services) fell from 3.25 per cent in January to 1.88 per cent in October.

The country’s CPI went up 3.71 per cent in January-October, with CPI in urban areas surging 3.29 per cent, and that in rural localities increasing 4.13 per cent against the same time last year. The core inflation rate grew 2.52 per cent year-on-year.

Retail, service revenue up

The GSO also reported the total retail sales of consumer goods and services in October reached VNĐ450.8 trillion ($19.2 billion), up 2.4 per cent month-on-month and 6.1 per cent year-on-year.

Of which, retail sales of consumer goods were VNĐ356.5 trillion, up by 2.5 per cent from the prior month and 11 per cent year-on-year, while revenue from accommodation and catering services stood at VNĐ44.8 trillion, up by 2.1 per cent from the previous month but down by 9 per cent from a year ago.

Revenue from tourism products and services in October fell by 69.8 per cent year-on-year to VNĐ1.2 trillion although this revenue fell slightly by 0.1 per cent month-on-month.

In the first 10 months of this year, total retail sales of consumer goods and services reached VNĐ4.1 quadrillion, an increase of 1.3 per cent year-on-year. If excluding the price factor, it decreased by 3 per cent from the previous year.

The retail sales of consumer goods in the first 10 months reached VNĐ3.3 quadrillion, 79.1 per cent of the total and up by 5.4 per cent year-on-year.

Localities that saw growth in retail sales of goods during the first 10 months included Hải Phòng (11.5 per cent), HCM City (9.9 per cent), Đồng Nai (9.8 per cent), Hà Nội (9.7 per cent), and Bình Dương (5.1 per cent). — VNS