Data released on September 9th indicates that in August 2026, the national consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.8% compared to the same month last year.

Breaking down the figures, urban areas experienced a 0.8% increase, while rural areas saw a 0.7% rise. Food prices declined by 1.4%, whereas non-food prices climbed 1.2%. Costs for consumer goods and services each advanced by 0.8%. Looking at the cumulative average for the first eight months of the year, consumer prices were up 0.9% from the corresponding period in 2025.

On a month-over-month basis for August, the national CPI edged up 0.4%. This included a 0.4% rise in both urban and rural areas, a 0.4% increase in food prices, and a 0.3% gain for non-food items. Notably, consumer goods prices rose 0.6%, while service prices saw a more modest 0.1% uptick.

Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Segment

Compared to August of the previous year, prices in the food, tobacco, alcohol, and dining-out category fell by 0.7%, exerting a downward pull of approximately 0.21 percentage points on the overall CPI. Within the food category, meat prices dropped 5.1% (contributing a -0.21 percentage point impact), with pork prices falling sharply by 11.8%. Fresh vegetable prices decreased by 2.8% (-0.05 percentage points), dairy products were down 1.4% (-0.01 percentage points), and aquatic products declined by 0.6% (-0.01 percentage points). Conversely, egg prices surged 15.0%, adding about 0.07 percentage points to the index.

Among the other seven major categories, six recorded year-on-year gains. Notably, prices for other goods and services jumped 7.3%, healthcare rose 2.7%, and transportation and communication costs increased 2.5%. Smaller increases were seen in education, culture and entertainment (1.4%), clothing (1.3%), and household goods and services (0.7%). In contrast, housing prices edged down 0.3%.

Month-on-Month Price Movements

From July to August, the food, tobacco, alcohol, and dining-out category rose 0.3% month-over-month, contributing roughly 0.07 percentage points to the CPI increase. Within this, fresh vegetable prices climbed 5.5% (adding 0.09 percentage points), egg prices went up 2.0% (0.01 percentage points), and meat prices increased 0.9% (0.03 percentage points), with pork up 1.3%. Partially offsetting these gains, fresh fruit prices fell 2.5% (-0.05 percentage points) and aquatic products declined 0.9% (-0.02 percentage points).

For the other seven major categories in August, two increased, three remained flat, and two declined on a monthly basis. Transportation & communication and other goods & services rose 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Housing, education/culture/entertainment, and healthcare prices were unchanged. Meanwhile, household goods & services and clothing prices dipped by 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.