Vietnam's CPI rises 0.55% in February

Vietnam's consumer price index (CPI) rises by 0.55 percent in February 2014 over the previous month, and 4.65 percent over a year earlier, reported the General Statistics Office on Monday. Nine out of 11 items in the commodity basket posted price hike, with the restaurant and food service sector seeing the sharpest 1. 15 percent monthly growth, the agency said. Two items left in Vietnam's CPI commodity basket witnessed declines, including housing and construction materials as well as telecommunication with a decrease of 0.64 and 0.02 percent respectively over January. The February CPI pushed the two-month index to 1.24 percent, an increase of 5.05 percent year-on-year, said statistics agency. The index in Hanoi slightly rose by 0.49 percent in February, while that in southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City went up 0. 24 percent.