Hanoi (VNA), March 27 -- The consumer price index (CPI) in the first quarter of 2020 rose by 5.56 percent, the highest increase during the 2016-2020 period, Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Bich Lam said.

The rise was attributed to the increasing demand for food in January and February - the duration of the Lunar New Year (Tet), Lam told a press conference in Hanoi on March 27, adding that food and vegetable prices climbed up 13.21 percent and 4.14 percent respectively.

The COVID-19 outbreak began in late January 2020, so the demand for some medical products, electricity and water also increased, pushing up their respective prices by 1.43 percent, 9.89 percent and 4.75 percent.

Price hikes were also seen in other ...