February’s Consumer Price Index in Ho Chi Minh City was up by 1.61 percent month on month, an increase of 9.22 percent over the same period last year.
In the lead were drinks and cigarettes, up 3.45 percent, followed by the entertainments and tourism sector at 2.58 percent.
Economists have blamed the recent rise in the price of fresh food on the high demand normally seen during the Lunar New Year Festival. They added that the recent post-Tet growth in CPI was still lower than the rate recorded in the same period last year, attributable to adequate preparations, especially the price stabilising programme, introduced by the HCM City administration.
The prices of fresh seafood, for example, increased by between 30 and 40 percent but were still considered normal and acceptable by consumers./.
(Source: Vietnam+)
