Ha Noi inflation double that of HCM City in first month of 2013

Ha NOI (VNS)— Inflation in the capital city saw a one-month surge of 0.95 per cent in January, much higher than the 0.44-per-cent rate measured in HCM City during the month.

Officials blamed the spike in prices on rising consumer demand ahead of the Tet (lunar new year) holiday next month.

According to the Ha Noi Statistics Office, prices posted increases in 10 out of the 11 categories of goods and services used to calculate the consumer price index, with food and services rising by 1.84 per cent and garments and footwear by 1.47 per cent.

Only the cost of transportation saw a decrease, falling 0.14 per cent from December following a VND300/litre price drop in the retail price of petrol in late December.

In HCM City, the municipal Statistics Office reported that inflation in the southern city in January edged up by only 0.44 per cent over the previous month, a fairly low rate compared with the month of January in previous years.

Officials there suggested that consumer demand was low for this time of year due to diminished purchasing power caused by ongoing economic hardship.

Eight out of 10 categories of goods and services measured registered a hike in prices in HCM City in January.

The steepest rise of 1.43 per cent was seen in food products, although the prices of processed foodstuff and restaurant services rose at a more modest 0.17 per cent and 0.09 per cent, respectively.

The costs of transportation, telecommunications and other services dropped compared to the previous month.

The country's largest economic hub, HCM City is on target for inflation in 2012 lower than the national target of 8 per cent. — VNS