HCMC – Vietnam’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January edged up 0.52% month-on-month, according to the General Statistics Office.

The index in January this year rose by 4.89% year-on-year, the highest growth rate in January in five years, the local media reported.

The surge was attributed to higher prices of services and products on the Lunar New Year holiday and rising domestic fuel prices due to soaring global ones.

Among the groups of consumer goods and services in the basket of items used to calculate the CPI, the prices of food and catering services in January increased 0.82% month-on-month, while the prices of beverages and tobacco rose by 1.12% against the previous month.

Strong demand for gold before the Tet holiday sent the prices of the yellow metal in January up 0.51% month-on-month and 3.57% year-on-year.

The strong post-Covid recovery of consumption and tourism pushed up the January CPI, piling pressure on inflation control this year. As such, Vietnam targets its inflation for 2023 at 4.5%, which is 0.5 percentage point higher than in previous years, according to the the General Statistics Office.

Core inflation in January picked up 0.46% month-on-month and 5.21% year-on-year.