Vietnam's consumer prices rose 4.31 percent in the first five months of 2026 from a year earlier, driven by higher housing, construction materials, electricity and transport costs, while registered foreign investment commitments jumped nearly 35 percent, official data showed on June 3.
The National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance on June 3 released Vietnam's socio-economic performance data for May and the first five months of 2026.
According to the report, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in May increased by nearly 0.3 percent compared with the previous month. Core inflation in May rose 0.34 percent month-on-month and nearly 4.7 percent from the same period last year. In the first five months of 2026, core inflation increased 4.04 percent compared with the same period in 2025.
On average, the CPI in the first five months rose 4.31 percent year-on-year. According to the Statistics Office, the main factor driving inflation was a sharp increase in housing and construction material prices, which rose more than 6.6 percent from a year earlier and contributed more than 1.5 percentage points to overall CPI growth.
In addition, household electricity prices increased by more than 5.8 percent due to rising demand and an adjustment to the average retail electricity tariff by Vietnam Electricity. Transport prices rose more than 5.2 percent , mainly because of higher gasoline and oil prices. Prices of food and catering services increased nearly 4.8 percent, contributing more than 1.7 percentage points to overall CPI growth.
The National Statistics Office also reported that registered foreign investment in Vietnam as of May 31, including newly registered capital, adjusted capital and foreign investors' capital contributions and share purchases, reached nearly US$25 billion, up nearly 35 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, disbursed foreign direct investment in Vietnam during the first five months of the year was estimated at nearly US$9.8 billion, an increase of nearly 10 percent year-on-year.
In May alone, total merchandise trade turnover reached more than US$99 billion, up 3.2 percent from the previous month.
For the first five months of 2026, total merchandise import-export turnover exceeded US$445 billion, up 25 percent from the same period last year. Exports rose nearly 20 percent , while imports increased nearly 31 percent , resulting in a trade deficit of nearly US$14 billion.
