HANOI, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The consumer price index (CPI) of Vietnam dropped 0.17 percent in June from May, announced the country's General Statistics Office (GSO) on Thursday.
Last month, the country reported the lowest CPI ever seen in May over the past decade, which declined 0.53 percent against April.
Of the 11 items in the CPI calculation basket, prices of three sank in June, while seven witnessed marginal rise compared to the previous month.
Specifically, food and catering services recorded the largest fall of 0.59 percent, transport down 0.71 percent, and telecommunications down 0.01 percent.
Meanwhile, the largest price hike was seen in the group of housing and construction materials - 0.53 percent.
Still, the index in the first half of this year posted a 2.54-percent year-on-year increase and a 0.2-percent rise compared to December 2016. Average CPI of the six-month period rose 4.15 percent against the same period of 2016.
Key drivers of the hike included higher hospital and tuition fees, and higher prices of some necessary items such as petroleum and oil products, said the office.
