Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (114.85) for March 2019 increased by 2.84% year-on-year, slightly higher than the growth in February (+2.79%) by 0.05 percentage points. The increment in March was attributable to dearer charges for eating out and higher rentals for dwellings, as well as rising prices of motor cars, gasoline, vegetables and fruits.
Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Education and Transport grew notably by 5.89% and 5.40% respectively year-on-year. The CPI-A (114.90) and CPI-B (114.39) saw respective increases of 2.81% and 3.08% year-on-year.
The Composite CPI for March 2019 decreased by 0.40% month-to-month. Receding charges for package tours after the Lunar New Year and seasonal sale of winter clothing brought down the price indices of Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear by 6.48% and 2.40% respectively. Price index of Transport fell by 0.46% as lower airfares offset the increase in gasoline prices. On the other hand, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.28% on account of dearer charges for eating out and higher prices of vegetables. The CPI-A and CPI-B dropped by 0.39% and 0.45% respectively month-to-month.
For the 12 months ended March 2019, the average Composite CPI rose by 3.10% from the previous period, with notable growth in the price indices of Clothing & Footwear (+6.06%) and Transport (+5.69%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 3.11% and 2.99% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first quarter of 2019 (114.89) increased by 2.89% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 2.86% and 3.17% respectively.
The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households in Macao. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP10,000 to MOP29,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP30,000 to MOP54,999.