Hanoi - Vietnam's inflation rate in hit 28.3 per cent
year-on-year in August, the highest level in 17 years, local press
reported Tuesday.
A report issued by the Government Statistics Office late Monday
said the inflation rate rose by 1.56 per cent compared with the
previous month, after falling from 2.2 per cent in June to 1.1 per
cent in July.
The report said the skyrocketing rise in consumer prices was
triggered by price increases in food, transportation, housing and
construction. Food prices were up 44.15 per cent compared with the
same period last year.
July's hike was ascribed to a fuel price increase late in the
month.
Government officials said the monthly inflation rate was lower
than anticipated. They feared a gasoline price hike by 31 per cent in
late July would drive August inflation to at least 1.7 per cent.
Prices of transportation and communication saw the highest
month-on-month growth at more than 9 per cent, followed by housing
and construction materials, which rose 2.2 per cent.
Vietnam has been struggling to curb double-digit inflation. The
government has repeatedly tightened credit rules for banks and has
raised the prime interest rate to 14 per cent.
On August 14, the government reduced retail gasoline prices by 5.2
per cent following the decline of world crude oil prices below 120
dollars per barrel.
The measure was aimed at cushioning poor people dependent on
gasoline use, such as taxi drivers, fishermen, and people commuting
to work via motorbike.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment, which expects annual
inflation for 2008 to hover around 25 per cent, announced last month
that the government had cut or delayed nearly 3,000 state-funded
investment projects with a total investment capital of 36 trillion
dong (2.14 billion dollars).
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