According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO), the consumer price index (CPI) in January 2025 increased by 0.98% against that of December 2024. The main reasons for this increase include the fact that many cities and provinces adjusted the prices of medical services in alignment with Circular No. 21/2024/TT-BYT, and the prices of transportation and food services increased due to the rising demand for travel and shopping before the Lunar New Year. As compared to the same period in 2024, the CPI in January 2025 increased by 3.63%, and the core inflation increased by 3.07%.
Specifically, the price indices of nine groups of commodities increased, meanwhile the price indices of two groups of commodities decreased.
Among the nine groups that increased, the price index of the group of medicines and healthcare services experienced the highest increase of 9.47% as compared to the previous month, contributing 0.51 percentage points to the overall CPI increase. In this relevance, the price index of the group of healthcare services increased by 12.57% due to the fact that many cities and provinces started to apply the new medical service price lists in alignment with Circular No. 21/2024/TT-BYT dated October 17, 2024 of the Ministry of Health.
The price index of the group of transport was up by 0.95%, contributing 0.09 percentage points to the overall CPI increase. The price index of the group of food and catering services rose by 0.74%, contributing 0.25 percentage points to the overall CPI increase.
The price index of the group of beverages and cigarettes increased by 0.69%; the price index of the group of other commodities and services was up by 0.51%; the price index of the group of footwear and hats was up by 0.38%; and the price index of the group of household appliances and goods rose by 0.31%.
The price index of the group of housing and construction materials increased by 0.35% ( contributing 0.07 percentage points to the overall CPI increase), due to the increases in the rental prices, the prices of housing repair and other related services, etc. On the opposite site, the price indices of electricity and water utilities decreased due to the lower consumption demand during the winter.
The price indices of the group of education and the group of postal services & telecommunication decreased.
The price index of the group of education experienced a slight decrease of 0.04%, while the price index of the group of postal services & telecommunication decreased by 0.12%. The core inflation in January 2025 increased by 0.42% against that of the previous month, up by 3.07% over the same period last year, lower than the overall CPI (increased by 3.63%).
HY