The residential electricity price index increased by 0.27 percent due to increased demand for electricity during strikingly hot weather, contributing to an increase in the consumer price index.
The consumer price index (CPI) in April 2024 only increased by 0.07 percent compared to the previous month, mainly causing gasoline prices to increase according to world fuel prices. The April CPI increased by 1.19 percent and by 4.4 percent compared to December 2023 and the same period last year respectively.
On average, in the first four months of 2024, CPI hiked by 3.93 percent against the same period last year and basic inflation soared by 2.81 percent.
Specifically, in April, out of 11 main groups of consumer goods and services, eight groups of goods saw a hike in price compared to the previous month while prices of three groups fell.
Notably, the food and catering services group decreased by 0.13 percent compared to the previous month, causing the overall CPI to decrease by 0.04 percentage points. Of which, the food group price index decreased by 0.63 percent, contributing to a decrease of 0.02 percentage points while the food group dropped by 0.18 percent, contributing to a decrease of 0.04 percentage points; eatery service rose by 0.21 percent.
In the group of goods and services with price increases, it is worth noting that the group of housing and construction materials posted a rise of 0.21 percent compared to the previous month.
The main reason for this month’s increase in consumer spending is that the domestic electricity price index increased by 0.27 percent following high demand for electricity when the weather was extremely hot. Kerosene prices escalated by 1.35 percent due to the impact of price adjustments during the month. Housing rents also climbed by 0.41 percent due to growth in demand for rental housing. The price of housing maintenance materials increased by 0.29 percent due to the increase in sand and steel prices as consumer demand grew.
