The consumer price index (CPI) in November 2020 decreased by 0.01% over the previous month, increased by 1.48% over the same period last year and was the lowest increase level of November in the period of 2016-2020. In November, the transport group had the highest decrease of 0.47% compared to the previous month, making the overall CPI dropped of 0.05%, mainly due to the impact of the increase and decrease adjustments of petrol and oil price (petrol and oil price was adjusted down on October 27th, 2020, on November 11st, 2020 and increased on November 26th, 2020), the average petroleum price index in November decreased by 1.32% compared with the previous month. Besides, price of new car declined by 0.08%, used car went down by 0.45% compared to the previous month because many car dealers have introduced preferential packages and discounts to stimulate consumer demand.
The price of pork decreased by 3.44% over the previous month due to increased supply, of which pork’s prices in urban areas dropped by 2.8%; in rural areas it declined by 3.87%. The price of live pork in the whole country fluctuated between 65,000-76,000 VND/kg, down 2,000-7,000 VND/kg compared to the previous month. Accordingly, price of processed products from pork decreased such as price of roast meat, spring rolls decreased by 1.33%, price of animal organs decreased by 1.74%; pork fat reduced by 5.25%. In addition, the price indexes of some other food items also decreased compared to the previous month, of which: The prices of some citrus fruits such as oranges, tangerines and grapefruit decreased by 3.32% due to being in season harvest; prices of poultry meats declined by 0.86% due to an abundant domestic supply (estimated that the total number of poultry in the whole country in November 2020 increased by about 4.1% over the same period in 2019).
The electricity’s price for living in November 2020 dropped by 2.27% compared to the previous month because the North changed seasons and the Central was continuously affected by storms and heavy rains causing widespread flooding. In particular, due to the impact of floods, the Central Power Corporation had actively cut off more than 800 transformer stations in 5 central provinces including Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien – Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam to ensuring safety for people, so electricity consumption reduced.
In addition, the price indexes of some commodity groups decreased compared to the previous month, such as: Postal services and telecommunications decreased by 0.17% because many businesses and retailers applied promotions and discounts on mobile phones to attract customers; culture, entertainment and tourism group declined by 0.06% because travel companies introduced domestic tourism demand stimulus programs, so package travel service prices went down.
The above main reasons have affected the consumer price index in November 2020 down 0.01% from the previous month, up 0.08% compared to December 2019 and up 1.48% over the same period last year, the lowest increase level in the period of 2016-2020¹. On average, in 11 months of 2020, CPI increased by 3.51% over the same period last year, continued to be effectively controlled month by month and maintained the trend of gradually low increase, aiming to actively support economic growth in the last months of 2020.
[1] CPI growth rate in November over December last year in period of 2016-2020: 4.5%; 2.38%; 3.24%; 3.78%; 0.08% respectively. CPI growth rate in November compared to the same period last year in period of 2016-2020: 4.52%; 2.62%; 3.46%; 3.52%; 1.48% respectively.