Consumers select dairy products in a supermarket in Da Lat Town. (Photo: Shutterstock/evgenii mitroshin)

Vietnam's consumer price index (CPI) shot up by 1.52 percent month-on-month in February.

Analysts attributed the hike to the increased food prices and transport costs during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays and the surge in power tariffs as Vietnam Electricity (EVN) ended its electricity subsidy in January.

The government had allowed electricity prices to be reduced for three months of 2020, from October to December to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Foreign exchange, another factor affecting inflation, is expected to remain steady in 2021.

But, all things considered, the inflation rate this year is expected to be around 3 percent, mainly reflecting the impact of moderating food prices, though rising oil prices and healthcare costs pose a threat, HSBC noted.

The State Bank of Vietnam has a target of keeping inflation at no more than 4 percent this year, and so it is likely to maintain a steady monetary policy through 2021, it predicted.

Last year inflation was 3.2%, well below the 4 percent limit set by the National Assembly.