According to the NSO, higher pork prices due to increased Tet demand, rising prices of dining-out services, and higher costs of housing maintenance materials linked to year-end home renovations were the main contributors to the increase. Compared with the same period last year, January’s CPI rose 2.53%, while core inflation expanded 3.19%.
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January CPI rises on stronger Tet holiday demand. (Photo for illustration) |
CPI in January 2026 rose 0.05% month-on-month, with urban areas up 0.02% and rural areas up 0.09%. Of the 11 major commodity and service groups, nine recorded price hikes while two saw declines.
Notably, the housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials group rose 0.7%. The beverages and tobacco group increased 0.58% as demand for consumption and gift-giving during Tet pushed up beer and alcohol prices by 0.45%, cigarettes by 0.6%, and non-alcoholic beverages by 0.89%.
The group of other goods and services climbed 0.41%, driven by higher prices for jewelry, up 2.55%, hairdressing services up 0.9%, personal care services and wedding-related services both up 0.56%, worship items up 0.43%, and health insurance up 0.09%.
Household equipment and appliances rose 0.26% on stronger shopping demand during the wedding and Tet season. Food and catering services increased 0.2%, contributing 0.07 percentage points to overall CPI growth, with foodstuffs up 0.29%, food products up 0.09%, and dining-out services up 0.44%.
Meanwhile, the medicine and healthcare services group rose 0.19%, while culture, entertainment and tourism increased 0.07% due to higher holiday-related demands. Education prices edged up 0.05%, largely reflecting tuition adjustments at some private, vocational, and tertiary institutions.
In contrast, the information and communications group fell 0.15%, with prices of phone and tablet accessories down 0.72%, smartphones and tablets down 0.46%, and televisions down 0.09% amid year-end promotions and discount programs. Telecommunications services declined 0.29%.
Transport prices dropped 2.32%, pulling overall CPI down by 0.23 percentage points, as petrol and diesel prices fell 5.34% and 3.23%, respectively. However, stronger year-end travel demand pushed up air passenger transport fares by 15.18% and rail fares by 4.94%.
The GSO reported that domestic gold prices moved in line with global trends. Domestically, January’s gold price index rose 5.02% from the previous month and surged 77.1% year on year.
The U.S. dollar price index in the domestic market fell 0.29% month on month but rose 3.18% year on year. Core inflation in January increased 0.35% from the previous month and 3.19% year on year, higher than headline CPI growth, as food and energy prices were excluded from its calculation.
Source: VNA