The Ministry of Industry and Trade predicts that Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in March will rise 2.2 percent against February, the highest in the past 33 months since June, 2008.
The CPI in the first quarter of 2011 is estimated to surge around 12.8 percent. The main reason is the increase in world crude oil prices, fertilizer, electricity and food causing pressure on the price of goods in the domestic market.
Besides the cost of electricity and petrol, the high exchange rate between the Vietnamese dong and foreign currencies has also forced many traders to increase the cost of goods and services.
According to economists it will be an achievement for the Government if through good organizational thinking they can maintain the CPI in 2011 at less than 10 percent.
The country's consumer price index increased by 2.09 per cent in February against the previous month due to the high prices of most goods over Tet (lunar new year), according to the General Statistics Office.
The February CPI rose by 12.31 per cent over the same period last year, up by 3.87 per cent against last December.
