October CPI continues to climb
October’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) saw a slight increase of 0.85 percent compared with the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 7 percent.
This drove the CPI in the past ten months up to 9.66 percent in comparison with the same period last year, said the General Statistics Office (GSO) on October 24.
According to the Head of the GSO’s Price Department, Nguyen Duc Thang, out of the 11 baskets of commodities measured, only post and telecommunications services saw a decrease, by 0.02 percent. The remainder enjoyed an increase of 0.17 to 5.94 percent.
The highest price rise was recorded in medicine and healthcare services, in which healthcare services alone saw a rise of 7.78 percent against the previous month, making up 0.31 percent of the country’s CPI.
They were followed by education with a rise of 1.88 percent, in which education services saw a month on month increase of 2.1 percent, as tuition fees were raised in many cities and provinces nationwide.
Construction materials experienced a rise of 1.09 percent, as gas prices and fuel rose by 3.7 percent from the previous month.
In October, the cost of transport services continued to rise by 0.62 percent.
Restaurants and catering services, which account for 40 percent in the goods basket, saw a slight increase of 0.29 percent, of which food rose by 0.37 percent while foodstuffs experienced an increase of 0.28 percent after falling for four consecutive months.
According to the GSO, in one month, the CPI in Hanoi inched up by 0.37 percent against last month ,while the corresponding index in Ho Chi Minh City increased by 0.4 percent.-VNA
All-out efforts need to be exerted to keep inflation rate at 8 percent for the whole 2012 – PM
All-out efforts need to be exerted to keep inflation rate at 8 percent for the whole 2012, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said.
He was speaking at the Cabinet’s monthly regular meeting in Hanoi on October 28 to review the country’s socio-economic performance in October and the past ten months.
Prime Minister Dung and his cabinet members agreed that the socio-economic situation in October and in the first ten months of the year continues to see positive changes and be on the right track to achieve the set targets.
Measures to rein in inflation and stabilise the macro economy continue to prove efficient, they said.
The consumer price index in October increased by 0.85 percent against September, up 6.02 percent compared to December last year and 7 percent over the same period last year, much lower than the growth rates of previous months.
Meanwhile, industrial production rose 5.8 percent and export was up 4.4 percent compared to September.
However, the cabinet members noted that the country’s socio-economic situation still faces difficulties and challenges with the macro economy not being really stable.
They suggested further, proactive deployment of measures to manage inflation, make the macro economy grow in a stable way and remove difficulties for enterprises, as well as ensure social security, sustainably reduce poverty and reinforce the corruption fight.
Concluding the meeting, PM Dung asked ministries, branches and agencies to keep a close watch on the situation and try their best to fulfill the set socio-economic targets for 2012, thus creating a firm premise for 2013 and the coming years.
The targets of curbing inflation and stablising the macro economy need to be implemented drastically and synchronously, he emphasised.
“The State Bank of Vietnam is determined to restructure its banking system and will be open and transparent in doing the work. Besides, it will continue taking measures to deal with bad debts effectively in a drastic and strict way, together with completing a master plan on bad debt settlement as soon as possible,” PM Dung said.
He asserted that the State Bank will keep a close eye on the gold market and implement related policies in a clear and transparent manner.
He instructed the ministries, sectors and localities to speed up capital disbursement for projects using State budget, Government’s bonds and investment from national target programmes.
The ministries and sectors continue solving difficulties and creating all possible favourable conditions to spur production and business, especially in the fields that the country has advantages like agriculture, tourism and services, the PM elaborated.
Along with that, attention needs to continue for ensuring social welfare and combating corruption, he added.-VNA
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- Vietnam Will Struggle to Meet 2012 Growth Target (bloomberg.com)
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- Vietnam to implement strategic breakthroughs in socio-economic development in 2013: PM (nzweek.com)
