Consumer goods at a supermarket in HCM City. The consumer price index (CPI) in August remains almost the same from last month. — VNA/VNS Photo Mỹ Phương

HÀ NỘI — The consumer price index (CPI) in August stayed almost unchanged from the previous month as a result of mixed trends in goods and consumer service prices, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on September 6.

In particular, it rose 0.02 per cent in urban areas but fell 0.03 per cent in rural regions. Among the 11 categories of main consumer goods and services, 10 witnessed slight price increases while transport saw a decrease from July.

However, the August CPI still increased 1.89 per cent from last December and 3.45 per cent year on year.

The gold price index went up 1.93 per cent month on month, 20.4 per cent from December, and 31.05 per cent year on year.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which measures the value of the US dollar against a basket of six major foreign currencies, dropped by 0.64 per cent from the previous month but grew 3.55 per cent from December and 5.86 per cent from the same period last year.

Last month’s core inflation climbed 0.24 per cent month on month and 2.53 per cent year on year, the GSO said.

During the first eight months, the CPI expanded 4.04 per cent from the same period last year.

Contributors to this CPI growth included food and catering services, which recorded a year-on-year price hike of 4 per cent, along with housing, electricity, water, fuel, and construction materials 5.46 per cent.

Meanwhile, factors dragging the CPI down during the period comprised postal and telecommunications services, whose prices declined 1.28 per cent, statistics show.

Between January and August, the gold price index rose 25.54 per cent while the US dollar price index up 5.85 per cent from a year earlier.

The eight-month core inflation went up 2.71 per cent year on year, still lower than the CPI growth of 4.04 per cent, due to higher prices of food, electricity, educational and health services, and fuel, which are excluded when core inflation is calculated, the GSO said.

It pointed out that contrary to 2023, the CPI was on an upward trend during the first five months of 2024, from a year-on-year rise of 3.37 per cent in January to 4.44 per cent in May. The growth followed a downward trend in the following months, slowing to 4.34 per cent in June, 4.36 per cent in July, and 3.45 per cent in August. — VNA/VNS