Vietnam to post higher CPI in 1st quarter

Vietnam is expected to see consumer price index (CPI) of 3.02 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared with 2.8 percent in the same period last year, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Friday.

Among 10 commodities and services used in calculating CPI, index of prices used to measure the change in the cost of basic goods and services in comparison with a fixed base period, prices of home appliances, and pharmaceuticals are set to respectively increase 0.14 percent and 0.29 percent in March.

Meanwhile, costs of entertainment services, beverage and tobacco, and food are estimated to decrease 1.16 percent, 0.72 percent and 0.42 percent, respectively.

Vietnam saw CPI of 6.6 percent in 2006.

Source: Xinhua