CPI goes up 2.54% in seven months: GSO

The July CPI increased 3.59% from last December and 3.14% from a year earlier.

Price hikes were recorded in 10 of the 11 categories of main consumer goods and services, but prices in the transport category fell 2.85% due to declines in domestic fuel prices.

In the first seven months, the CPI rose 2.54% while the core inflation was up 1.44% year on year.

The GSO said during the period, fuel prices were adjusted 19 times, including six decreases. As a result, domestic petrol and oil prices climbed up 49.75%.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic's being brought under control, demand for restaurant services has surged, leading to a year-on-year increase of 3.81% in eating-out prices. Prices of house maintenance materials and milled rice also went up 7.84% and 1.15% during January - July, respectively.

Meanwhile, price decreases were reported in food (down 0.07%), educational services (3.42%), and postal and telecommunications services (0.5%).

The core inflation in July inched up 0.58% month on month and 2.63% year on year. During the seven months, it rose 1.44% from the same period of 2021, lower than the CPI expansion of 2.54%, showing that fluctuations in consumer prices were mainly driven by food and fuel prices, according to the GSO.