Vietnamese consumer prices rise

Vietnamese consumer prices rose 8.8 percent year-on-year in September, within market expectations, amid gains in food and construction materials, officials said Tuesday.
An early estimate by the General Statistics Office (GSO) also showed Vietnam's consumer price index (CPI) in September rose 0.51 percent from August and 7.32 percent from December last year.
"The month-to-month rise was a bit lower, while the overall rise in CPI was due to gains in key products like food, housing and construction materials, which were remarkable," said a GSO expert who asked not to be named.
According to the GSO, food prices, which form more than 40 percent of the basket of goods on which the CPI is based, increased 13.32 percent from a year ago, with rice and other grains up by 16.21 percent.