April’s consumer price index down
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The consumer price index (CPI) in April decreased by 0.34% month-on-month, but increased by 2.81% year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
In the first four months of this year, the index rose by 3.84% y-o-y, mainly due to increases in prices of education, housing and construction materials, culture, entertainment and tourism, food, and electricity.
In April, seven out of the 11 groups of main consumer goods and services witnessed price decreases, and the remainders saw rises.
Notably, a 0.38% fall in the price of food and catering services caused a decline of 0.13 percentage point of the CPI.
Gold prices in April were up 2.04% m-o-m, but down 1.09% y-o-y. In the January-April period, the prices rose by 0.66% y-o-y.
Meanwhile, the USD price in April fell 0.89% m-o-m, but rose by 2.5% y-o-y, leading to a y-o-y increase of 3.21% in the first four months of this year.
According to the GSO, this month, core inflation increased by 0.13% over the previous month, and by 4.56% over the same period last year. On average, in the first four months, it increased by 4.9% y-o-y, higher than the overall average CPI (3.84%).
Questions & Answers
Q.What were the main factors contributing to the consumer price index increase in the first four months of this year?
What were the main factors contributing to the consumer price index increase in the first four months of this year?
The index rose primarily due to higher prices in education, housing, construction materials, culture, entertainment, tourism, food, and electricity. These categories significantly influenced the overall increase during the period.
Q.How did the change in food and catering services prices affect the overall CPI in April?
How did the change in food and catering services prices affect the overall CPI in April?
A 0.38% fall in the price of food and catering services was a notable factor. This specific decrease directly led to a 0.13 percentage point decline in the consumer price index for April.
Q.What was the year-on-year change for the consumer price index in April?
What was the year-on-year change for the consumer price index in April?
The consumer price index in April increased by 2.81% compared to the same month last year. This shows a notable rise despite a month-on-month decrease.
Q.How does the core inflation rate compare to the overall average CPI in the first four months?
How does the core inflation rate compare to the overall average CPI in the first four months?
Core inflation increased by 4.9% year-on-year on average in the first four months. This figure is higher than the overall average CPI increase of 3.84% for the same period.