HANOI: Vietnam’s inflation rate in 2015 posted the lowest level since 2001, according to the country’s General Statistics Office (GSO) on Thursday.
Accordingly, the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Vietnam in 2015 saw an increase of 0.63 percent compared to that in 2014, the GSO said on its website on Thursday.
The actual CPI rate in 2015 was kept much lower than the target. Inflation rate in Vietnam was set by the country’s parliament to stay at less than 5 percent in 2015. However, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung lowered the bar to less than 2 percent at a parliament meeting in October.
In December, the country’s CPI increased by 0.02 percent compared to the previous month, and 0.6 percent year-on-year.
Monthly CPI in Vietnam is calculated from the 15th day of the previous month to the 15th day of the reference month.
Seven among 11 commodity groups in the CPI basket posted price hike in December compared to the previous month, ranging between 0.04 percent and 0.5 percent.
The group of housing and construction materials saw the highest price hike, while the group of education recorded the lowest increase.
The four groups with falling price during the month include household appliances and goods (down 0.1 percent), transportation (down 1.57 percent), postal services and telecommunication (down 0.03 percent), as well as culture, entertainment and tourism (down 0.05 percent).
The modest increase of the country’s CPI was attributed to abundant supply of commodities in domestic market and low petroleum price, among others, said GSO.
The low and stable CPI rate will create favorable conditions for the implementation of monetary policies, thus stimulate production and businesses, GSO Director General Nguyen Bich Lam was quoted by Vietnam’s state-run news agency as saying.
In December, CPI in Vietnam’s two biggest cities, the capital Hanoi and southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City, decreased by 0.03 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively, against the previous month.
