CPI falls slightly, GSO says

VGP – The consumer price index (CPI) in May fell by 0.06% against the previous month but it still rose 6.36% compared to the same month last year, the General Statistics Office reported Friday.

May 24, 2013 2:29 PM GMT+7

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With the slight increase, the index in the first five months surged 6.74% against the same period of 2012.

Noticeably, a long public holiday in May could not help raise domestic purchasing power though the prices of a number of key commodities, including food and catering services (down 0.35%), dipped.

The real estate market still remained sluggish as housing and construction material prices declined 0.53% after the Central Bank officially pumped a financial package of VND 30 trillion with preferential interest rate for social housing program.

According to experts, the decisions to lower petrol and liquefied petroleum gas prices in May helped push down CPI by 0.04%.

Also in May, domestic gold price fell 4.62% while the price of the Greenback went up 0.21%./.

By Hai Minh