Increased tuition fees and medical services are the reasons for the CPI increase in the first 6 months of the year.

Average CPI in the first 6 months of 2024 increased by 4.08%

At the press conference announcing the socio-economic situation in the second quarter of 2024 and the first 6 months of 2024 held on the morning of June 29, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - General Director of the General Statistics Office said: Compared to December 2023, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in June 2024 increased by 1.4%, and compared to the same period last year increased by 4.34%.

Average CPI in the second quarter of 2024 increased by 4.39% compared to the second quarter of 2023. Average CPI in the first 6 months of 2024 increased by 4.08% compared to the same period last year; core inflation increased by 2.75%.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, the increase in pork prices due to African swine fever in some localities and the adjustment of medical service prices in some provinces and cities according to Circular No. 22/2023/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health are the main reasons for the CPI in June 2024 to increase by 0.17% compared to the previous month and increase by 1.4% compared to December 2023, up 4.34% compared to the same period last year.

According to the General Statistics Office, compared to the previous month, the CPI in the first months of this year tended to increase and decrease alternately according to the consumption pattern before, during and after Tet. Specifically, in January 2024, the CPI increased by 0.31% due to some localities increasing the price of medical services, the Vietnam Electricity Group adjusting the average retail price of electricity and domestic rice prices continuing to increase following the export price of rice.

In February 2024, the CPI increased the highest by 1.04% because it was the month of the Lunar New Year, so people's demand for goods and services increased, rice and gasoline prices increased according to world prices.

In March 2024, the CPI decreased by 0.23% due to the decrease in people's demand after the Lunar New Year, especially for food. From April 2024 to June 2024, the CPI continuously increased by 0.07%, 0.05% and 0.17% respectively, mainly due to the increase in gasoline, pork and electricity prices. In the first 6 months of 2024, the average monthly CPI increased by 0.23% compared to the previous month.

Compared to the same period last year, unlike the trend in 2023, the CPI in the first half of 2024 tends to increase. From 3.37% in January 2024 to the highest level of 4.44% in May 2024. In June 2024, the CPI began to slow down, the increase was 4.34%. In the first 6 months of this year, the CPI increased by 4.08% compared to the same period last year.

General Statistics Office believes that CPI in the first half of 2024 tends to increase.

What is the reason for the CPI increase in the first 6 months of the year?

The main reason for the CPI increase in the first 6 months of the year, as explained by the representative of the General Statistics Office, is that in the 2023-2024 school year, some provinces and centrally run cities increased tuition fees according to the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council; medical service prices were adjusted according to Circular No. 22/2023/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health. In addition, the housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials group; the food and catering services group also increased in price due to increased consumer demand.

The average price index of food and catering services in the first 6 months of 2024 increased by 4% over the same period last year, causing the overall Consumer Price Index to increase by 1.34 percentage points. Of which, the price index: The food group increased by 15.76%, causing the CPI to increase by 0.58 percentage points, of which rice prices increased by 20.98% according to export rice prices and increased consumer demand during holidays and Tet, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.53 percentage points; The food group increased by 2.05%, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.44 percentage points; The group of eating out increased by 4.13%, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.36 percentage points due to increased demand along with increased input material prices and labor costs.

The price index of housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials increased by 5.51% over the same period last year, causing the overall CPI to increase by 1.04 percentage points, mainly due to the converted rental housing and owner-occupied housing price index increasing by 4.95%, causing the CPI to increase by 0.52 percentage points; the household electricity price index increased by 9.45% due to increased electricity demand and the adjustment of the average retail electricity price by Vietnam Electricity Group in 2023, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.31 percentage points.

In addition, the average 6-month domestic water price index increased by 10.15% over the same period last year; housing maintenance materials increased by 1.87%. The education group price index increased by 8.58% because in the 2023-2024 school year, some provinces and centrally run cities increased tuition fees, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.53 percentage points.

The price index of the group of drugs and medical services increased by 7.07%, causing the overall CPI to increase by 0.38 percentage points due to the adjustment of medical service prices according to Circular No. 22/2023/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health from November 17, 2023.

In addition to the factors that increased the CPI in the first 6 months of the year, the General Statistics Office also pointed out the factors that reduced the CPI in the first 6 months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, including: The price index of the postal and telecommunications group in the first 6 months of 2024 decreased by 1.41% compared to the same period last year due to the price of old generation phones decreasing when businesses applied discount programs to stimulate demand for smartphone lines introduced to the market after a period of time.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/tang-hoc-phi-dich-vu-y-te-la-nhung-nguyen-nhan-lam-tang-cpi-6-thang-dau-nam-329009.html