Among the total, retail sales of goods contributed three-fourth, with a value of US$74.8 billion, increasing by 10.8 %.

Retail sales of accommodations, restaurants and catering services posted growths of 11.7 %, while the tourism sector accounted for 0.9 %

According to GSO expert Vu Manh Ha, the purchasing power showed improvements thanks to an abundant supply, stable prices and diversified and high quality products, along with many promotional programmes conducted by companies.

Key consumer products and essential services saw stable prices in the first 8 months of the year. Restaurants witnessed slight increases at 0.1 %, transport services were up 2.12 %, healthcare services up 0.01 %, drugs rose by 0.03 %, soft drinks were up 0.07 % and electricity, tap water and gas were down 0.45 %.

Further, Ha attributed the retail sales increase to the decrease in the consumer price index.

He noted that in the remaining months, total retail sales would improve as the supply of products and consumer goods continue to stabilise.

Purchasing power was one of the indicators that reflected the macroeconomic recovery in the first eight month of this year.