VINACHEM

Consumer prices rose by the lowest rate in five years in November as the government forecast inflation to be at or below the year’s target of 7 percent.

According to the General Statistics Office, prices climbed 0.34 percent this month, taking inflation for the year to date to 5.5 percent.

“Food and food services,” the most important of the 11 baskets of goods and services used to calculate the consumer price index, saw the highest rise of 0.62 percent.

This was due to higher prices of food in the north-central and central coastal regions due to the devastation caused there by recent storms.

At a National Assembly session November 21 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said this year’s inflation would be at a decade low of 6.2-6.3 percent.

Last year it was 6.8 percent.