The very slight increase in July’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) is attributed to the government and local authorities’ efforts to curb inflation, reports the General Statistics Office (GSO).
According to the GSO, July’s CPI is estimated to have risen by only 0.06 percent over last month, much lower than the earlier forecasts of 0.2-0.3 percent and is the lowest monthly growth in CPI for a past year.
The government’s policies to stabilise prices have started to pay off in recent months driving July’s CPI growth to a record low, said the GSO, citing the gradual decrease in the CPI, from 1.35 percent in the first quarter to 0.21 percent in the second quarter and to 0.44 percent in the third quarter.
However, there are still many things to do to achieve the government’s target for this year’s growth in inflation to be under 8 percent, as so far inflation this year has climbed to 4.84 percent, the GSO said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) seems to be more optimistic, predicting that the CPI in August will continue to increase slightly and inflation for the whole year will be kept below the target.
As the economy is still to make a full recovery and people’s incomes have not improved much, a rise in the prices of essential goods items will have a considerable impact on people’s lives, according to the GSO.
Moreover, factors emerging from the world’s economy recovery that may affect input costs as well as natural disasters are likely to result in a surplus in demand, making the prices of essential goods surge suddenly, leading to a rise in inflation, it said.
Therefore, according to the GSO, central government and local authorities should be well prepared to take flexible measures and stabilising exchange rates and ensuring the market’s liquidity are top priority.
Recent moves taken by authorities in the larger provinces and cities to help local businesses stock up with goods in anticipation of a possible surge in prices and the Ministry of Finance’s decision to ask petroleum traders to restrict changes to petrol prices are down to the government’s determination to stop inflation from rising./.
| 
