Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The consumer price index (CPI) of Hanoi in March increased slightly compared to February but no specific figure has been given, according to a report from the municipal Statistics Office.
According to the office, the increase was attributed to the rise in medicine and health service sectors, as health service prices rose from March 1, 2016.
Culture, entertainment, and tourism costs also climbed due to high demand during the spring festival season and the International Women’s Day on March 8.
Other areas that saw light price rises were home appliances, apparel, headwear, footwear and education.
In contrast, the prices of oil and petrol continued to go down, contributing to the sharp decrease in the transport sector. Some groups of commodities that also saw prices drop were housing, electricity, tap water, fuel and building materials.
In the same month, gold prices on the local market rebounded by 7.73 percent compared with the previous month. The 99.99 pure gold was traded at 3.33 million VND (150 USD) per tael (37.5g) at private shops, while the US dollar at commercial banks remained stable, with a slight fall of 0.1 percent.
The municipal People’s Committee is implementing several economic solution packages and administrative reform in order to tackle difficulties for local enterprises.-VNA
