Compared with a year earlier, the CPI in April rose by 2.93% while the average CPI in the first four months of 2020 increased by 4.9% compared with the same period of 2019.
According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), transport costs plummeted 13.86% while housing and building materials dropped by 2.33%.
Head of price statistics at the GSO Do Thi Ngoc stated that thanks to two rounds of steep price cuts, fuel prices in April fell by nearly 28.5%, contributing to a 1.18% reduction to the overall CPI.
Cooking gas also plunged by nearly 20% over the previous months, while house rent rates dropped by 0.97% as many owners lower their rent to help those affected by the coronavirus.
The prices of clothes, footwear, household appliances, entertainment and travel services fell by between 0.5% and 3% as demand declined during the social distancing period.
In contrast, a number of food items rose in April as consumers stocked up over coronavirus concerns, with rice prices up 2.51%, pork up 1.62%, beef up 0.55%, eggs up 1.48% and fresh vegetables up 3.54%.
The coronavirus also pushed up prices of medical supplies and medicines, which went up by 0.1-0.3% against the previous month.
In April, domestic gold prices rose 0.69% while the US dollar climbed 0.95%.
Core inflation, which excludes the prices of food, energy, healthcare and education, dropped 0.15% against the previous month but rose 2.71% compared with the same month in 2019.
