Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in May 2025 rose 0.16 percent month-on-month, driven mainly by higher housing, electricity, and dining-out costs. Compared to December 2024, CPI is up 1.53 percent, and 3.24 percent compared to May 2024, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Office.
On a year-to-date basis, CPI increased by 3.21 percent, while core inflation (excluding volatile and regulated items) rose 3.10 percent.
Key category movements in May:
- Housing, electricity, water, fuel, and construction materials: ↑ 0.73 percent: Biggest contributors included higher prices for maintenance materials (+1.20%), electricity (+0.84%), and rent (+0.64%).
- Culture, entertainment, and tourism: ↑ 0.28 percent: Domestic tourism (+1.24%) and hotels (+1.36%) rose sharply due to the holiday season.
- Postal and telecommunications: ↑ 0.21 percent: Driven by rising mobile phone and accessory prices following the end of promotional campaigns.
- Household appliances and equipment: ↑ 0.19 percent: Repairs and seasonal goods (e.g. fans, air conditioner servicing) saw notable increases.
- Beverage and tobacco: ↑ 0.14 percent: Carbonated drinks, cigarettes, and beer posted small price gains.
- Garments, hats, and footwear: ↑ 0.05 percent: Footwear services, hats, and garment repair costs saw moderate increases.
- Food and catering services: ↑ 0.03 percent: Eating out prices rose (+0.28%), but food and foodstuffs declined, including pork, poultry, eggs, and fruit.
- Medicines and healthcare: ↑ 0.02 percent: Medical equipment and some essential medicines increased modestly.
- Education: ↑ 0.01 percent: Minor upticks in stationery and school supplies.
- Transport: ↓ 0.42 percent: Diesel (-2.33%) and petrol (-1.20%) fell in line with global price drops, though bus and waterway fares rose slightly.
Core inflation details:
- Month-on-month: +0.33 percent
- Year-on-year (May): +3.33 percent
- Year-to-date: +3.10 percent