CPI in March 2023 increased by 0.74% and over the same period last year increased by 3.35%. In the first quarter of 2023, CPI increased by 4.18% over the same period last year; core inflation increased by 5.01%.

According to a new report released from the General Statistics Office, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March 2023 decreased by 0.23% compared to the previous month. Compared to December 2022, CPI in March 2023 increased by 0.74% and over the same period last year increased by 3.35%. Accumulated over the first quarter of 2023, CPI increased by 4.18% over the same period last year; core inflation increased by 5.01%.

Specifically, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March 2023 decreased by 0.23% compared to the previous month. Among 11 main groups of consumer goods and services, 6 groups of goods decreased in price compared to the previous month; 5 groups of goods increased in price.

6 groups of goods and services with price index decreased, including education group with the strongest decrease with 1.71%; group of food and food services decreased by 0.58%; traffic group decreased by 0.16%; beverage and tobacco group decreased by 0.05% due to the decrease in consumption after the Lunar New Year.

In addition, the post and telecommunications group decreased by 0.02% mainly due to the decrease in prices of landline phones, mobile phones and tablets.

The group of garments, hats and footwear decreased by 0.02%, mainly due to the warmer weather in the northern provinces and a decrease in consumer demand.

Five groups of goods and services with price index increased are: Housing and building materials group increased by 0.36%; group of other goods and services increased by 0.21%; group of appliances and household appliances increased by 0.14%.

In addition, the group of culture, entertainment and tourism increased by 0.13%; medicines and medical services increased by 0.06%.

According to the General Statistics Office, the average CPI in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 4.18% over the same period in 2022 due to a number of main reasons. Accordingly, the group of housing and building materials in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 7.17% over the same period last year (with the impact of increasing CPI by 1.35 percentage points) due to the increase in the price of cement, iron, steel and sand along with the price of input materials and high housing rent.

Core inflation in March increased by 0.22% over the previous month, with an increase of 4.88% over the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2023, the average core inflation increased by 5.01% compared to the same period in 2022, higher than the average CPI. The main reason is due to: The average domestic gasoline price in the first quarter of 2023 decreased by 11.09% compared to the same period last year, which is a factor restraining the growth rate of CPI but belongs to the group of goods excluded from the core inflation calculation.

Kylie Nguyen