HANOI: Inflation rose to 2.48 percent at the end of July, with the prices of most services and goods edging up during the month, according to new government data. Transport saw the highest month-on-month increase of 1.19 percent, mainly due to the effects of earlier adjustments to gasoline prices, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam said. Fuel prices in Vietnam were cut twice this month, but the last reduction, the higher of two, was on July 20, and so had little effect on the July consumer price index (CPI), it said.
Of 10 other items in the CPI basket, seven, including medical services and construction, recorded slight increases of 0.01-0.17 percent. Food and dining services, together with post and telecommunication, edged down while education stayed unchanged. Many economists expect inflation to rise to 6.3 percent this year from the record low of 0.63 percent last year. The government’s projection and also target is 5 percent.