Laos's inflation falls for first time after more than a year
The inflation rate of Laos declined slightly from 41.3% in February to 41% in March, according to the Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB), marking the first time the rate has decreased after continuously increasing for more than a year.
The inflation rate of Laos declined slightly from 41.3% in February to 41% in March.(Photo: Southern Laos)
Vientiane (VNA) – The inflation rate ofLaos declined slightly from 41.3% in February to 41% in March, according to theLao Statistics Bureau (LSB), marking the first time the rate hasdecreased after continuously increasing for more than a year.
The LSB’s latest report said that despite a drop ininflation, the costs of all goods and services remain very high and Laos is still one of the countries with the highest inflation rate in the region.
The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages saw the highestincrease in March, up 51% compared with the same period last year. It wasfollowed by medical care and medicine (41.8%), communications and transport(41.7%), hotels and restaurants (36.9%) and household utilities (35%).
Economists expressed concern about the possibility of priceincreases in April due to higher demand during the upcomingtraditional New Year festival Bounpimay in Laos.
The LSB said it was diff✤icult to predict the volume of goods൩ tobe imported in the coming weeks, forecasting that the inflation rate in Aprilcould be higher than that of March.
The year-on-year inflation rate of Laos has increased from 6.25%in January 2022 to 7.31% in February, and rose continuously for more than ayear, reaching over 40% in the early months of this year. Economists said that it isessential for the Southeast Asian country to promote domestic production,reduce imports and promote investment in potential sectors that can bringforeign currency to Laos, noting that the nation relies too much on imports./.
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The inflation rate of Laos declined slightly from 41.3% in February to 41% in March.(Photo: Southern Laos) 
