Vietnam's consumer price index (CPI) is estimated at 6.6 percent this year, compared with 8.4 percent last year and 9.5 percent in 2004, according to the General Statistics Office on Monday.

Among 10 commodities and services used in calculating CPI, index of prices used to measure the change in the cost of basic goods and services in comparison with a fixed base period, foods and foodstuffs see highest price increase, which is estimated at 7.9 percent in 2006. Meanwhile, costs of housing and construction materials are set to rise 5.9 percent.

This year, prices of gold in the Vietnamese market are estimated to surge 27.2 percent against last year, mainly due to higher world gold prices. Meanwhile, prices of U.S. dollars over Vietnamese dong are set to rise only one percent, said the office.

Vietnam, whose annual average economic growth has stood at 7.5 percent over the past 20 years, is estimated to post the growth rate of 8.2 percent in 2006.

Source: Xinhua