Food prices, which form nearly half of the basket of goods on which the CPI is based, were up 14.28 percent due to inconvenient weather conditions.

Housing and construction material prices also soared by 10.6

percent as April was the peak time of the construction season.

The demand for drinks in summer has pushed up the prices of these products by 6.24 percent.

The prices of transport services, home electric appliance and garments registered a rise of between 5.4-6.4 percent.

The price of gold rose 3.79 percent year-on-year, the highest monthly increase so far this year, as a result of the increase in the world gold market. Vietnam is a big gold importer, purchasing 50-60 tonnes of gold annually.

The US dollar was up by 0.63 percent against the Vietnamese dong as compared with a year ago and 0.12 percent against the previous month, according to the GSO.