Shoppers at Big C Thang Long supermarket in Hanoi. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 3.26 per cent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2025, while core inflation rose 3.18 per cent, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported on Wednesday.

Rising costs for housing repairs, food and dining out were the main contributors to a 0.11 per cent month-on-month increase in CPI in July. The index rose 2.13 per cent from December 2024 and 3.19 per cent year-on-year.

CPI rose 0.03 per cent in urban areas and 0.2 per cent in rural areas. Among the 11 main commodity groups, prices increased in nine categories and declined in two.

Key drivers of July CPI included healthcare and medicine prices, which surged 12.81 per cent year-on-year, contributing 0.69 percentage points to CPI, following an increase in medical service prices under Circular No. 21/2024/TT-BYT.

The housing, utilities, and building materials group rose 7.07 per cent, adding 1.33 percentage points, due to higher rents and repair costs. Price hike was also seen in housing maintenance materials (8.53 per cent), rent (7.17 per cent), electricity (8.94 per cent), and water supply (4.89 per cent).

Meanwhile, education climbed 3.05 per cent, contributing 0.19 percentage points to the overall index, while food and catering services increased 2.92 per cent, adding 0.98 points.

Culture, entertainment and tourism grew 1.76 per cent, driven by summer demand. Alcohol and tobacco rose 2.24 per cent, led by tobacco (2.96 per cent) and liquor (2.63 per cent).

Household goods and services were up 1.71 per cent, with notable changes in appliance repairs (3.49 per cent), plastic and rubber goods (2.47 per cent), furniture (2.45 per cent), domestic services (4.51 per cent). Washing machines, refrigerators, and cookware saw slight declines.

In contrary, transport cost fell 3.74 per cent, lowering CPI by 0.36 percentage points, due to global fuel price drops. Petrol and oil dropped 12.8 per cent, and new cars dipped 0.43 per cent.

Postal and telecom prices declined 0.38 per cent, cutting CPI by 0.01 percentage points, as prices of smartphones and accessories fell amid strong competition and tech advancements.

At the same time, global gold prices remained stable, averaging 3,369 USD per ounce in July. Domestic gold prices, however, surged.

The USD price rose despite the global USD index decreased by 1 per cent to 97.61, due to expectations of a looser Fed policy.

According to the NSO, core inflation in July increased 0.21 per cent month-on-month and 3.3 per cent year-on-year. The seven-month figure of 3.18 per cent remained slightly lower than the overall CPI increase thanks to the exclusion of volatile sectors like food, energy, health care and education. — VNS