Hanoi (VNA) - The consumer price index (CPI) in January rose 0.46 percentover December, 2016 and 5.22 percent compared to the same month last year,according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Theprices of nine out of the 11 goods groups used for calculation increased, with thehighest rise recorded in transportation, at 3.21 percent.

Theprice of pharmaceuticals and healthcare service was up 1.01 percent, while thatof housing and construction materials increased 0.57 percent, goods and otherservices, up 0.48 percent, and education, up 0.47 percent.

Meanwhile,a downturn was seen in food and catering service and post andtelecommunications with 0.24 percent and 0.15 percent, respectively.

DoThi Ngoc, deputy head of the Department for Price Statistics under the GSO,said that high demand for goods at the end of the lunar year pushed the pricesof food, beverage, and clothes up.

Shealso attributed the increase in the food price to high demand before the LunarNew Year festival and the extended rice trade deal between Vietnam and thePhilippines.

Risinghealthcare service price in a number of Ho Chi Minh City’s districts was thereason behind the rise of the service price, she explained.

She added that a number of centrally-run cities also raised tuition in linewith the Government’s Decree 86/2015/ND-CP, leading to a rise in the educationservice.

Threerises in the fuel price during December 2016 and January 2017, along with the hightravelling demand during the month also caused the public transportation priceto rise 1.05 percent, said Ngoc.

However,factors contributing to curbing the CPI in January include a 2.2 percentdecline in the pork price and a 4.68 percent decrease in the vegetable pricedue to abundant supply, she said, adding that electronic products and telephoneprices also went down.

InJanuary, domestic gold price decreased due to a downturn in world price, while theexchange rate was stable at about 22,900 VND/1 USD.

TheGSO reported that core inflation (CPI excluding food, fresh foodstuff, energyand State-owned products such as healthcare services and education) in themonth rose 0.28 percent over the previous month and 1.88 percent year on year,which reflected the stability of the monetary policy.

TheGSO also forecast that February’s CPI will continue rising as the prices offood, foodstuff, entertainment, and catering services go up during the festive firstlunar month.-VNA