HANOI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The consumer price index (CPI) of Vietnam, which measures changes in the prices paid by consumers for a basket of goods and services, rose 2.74 percent on-year between January and May, posting the lowest five-month level since 2017, the country's General Statistics Office said on Wednesday.
In the five-month period, items posting the most significant rise included education (up 6.23 percent), food and foodstuff (up 4.64 percent), and housing and construction materials (up 2.58 percent).
Compared to April, the index went up 0.49 percent, contributed by increased prices of nine over the 11 items in the calculation basket. Transportation charge saw the highest growth of 2.64 percent against April, mainly due to hikes in fuel prices on May 2 and May 17; housing and construction materials rose 1.28 percent, mainly due to higher electricity prices; and beverage and cigarette climbed up 0.18 percent.
In May, medical and health services and telecommunications charge were the two items witnessing respective drop of 0.06 percent and 0.05 percent.
In 2018, Vietnam's CPI rose 3.54 percent compared to 2017, far below the 4-percent target set by the country.
