Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI (116.64) for September 2019 increased by 2.73% year-on-year, down by 0.10 percentage points from the 2.83% growth in August 2019. The increment in September was attributable to higher charges for eating out, rising rentals for dwellings and dearer prices of fresh pork and motor cars.
Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Education and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages surged by 5.25% and 4.41% respectively year-on-year, whereas the index of Communication dropped markedly by 2.56%. The CPI-A (116.67) and CPI-B (116.37) saw respective increases of 2.61% and 3.74% year-on-year.
The Composite CPI for September 2019 rose by 0.20% month-to-month. Higher tuition fees in the new academic year and rising prices of fresh pork as well as dearer charges for eating out drove up the price indices of Education and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 5.05% and 0.95%. On the other hand, lower charges for package tours and seasonal sale of women’s summer clothing pushed down the price indices of Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear by 3.25% and 1.29%. Price index of Transport fell by 0.49% as lower airfares offset the increase in gasoline prices. The CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.21% and 0.09% respectively month-to-month.
For the 12 months ended September 2019, the average Composite CPI increased by 2.86% from the previous period, with notable growth in the price indices of Education (+5.83%) and Transport (+5.03%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 2.82% and 3.22% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the third quarter of 2019 (116.37) increased by 2.72% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 2.60% and 3.70% respectively. The average Composite CPI for the first nine months of 2019 went up by 2.77% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 2.70% and 3.34% 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.