2018 is considered a successful year in controlling inflation as the average consumer price index (CPI) rises by 3.54 percent from 2017 and 2.98 percent from last December, meeting the CPI growth target of under 4 percent.

 

The information was released at a press conference of the General Statistics Office (GSO) in Hanoi on December 27.

 

Director of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department Do Thi Ngoc pointed out several factors that lead to price hike, including the scheduled increases of medical service prices, tuition fees, and the region-based minimum wage for employees at businesses that has subsequently led to higher prices of household appliances and house repair, electricity and water equipment instalment and repair, and domestic help services.

 

Other contributors to the CPI expansion include price rises of food, public transport services, gas, house rental, petrol and tourism services.

 

GSO Director General Nguyen Bich Lam said sectors and authorities at all levels have actively taken measures to keep the CPI expansion at less than 4 percent as targeted by the National Assembly.

 

In 2018, the US Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate four times, which has made the US dollar appreciate against other currencies, thus resulting in a higher USD/VND exchange rate.

 

However, thanks to the State Bank of Vietnam’s efforts in setting the daily reference exchange rate in comparison to eight key currencies, the USD price in the domestic market has still been kept within the trading band of +/-3 percent.

 

Meanwhile, domestic gold prices have fluctuated in line with global ones, Lam noted.

 

The core inflation, which is the CPI excluding food items, energy products and State-managed commodities (healthcare and educational services), in December increased by 0.09 percent from last month and 1.7 percent from the same period last year. The whole year’s figure climbed 1.48 percent from 2017, according to the GSO.

 

During its recent session, the National Assembly still maintained the inflation target of about 4 percent for the next year.–VNA