Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for October 2021 (102.84) rose by 0.91% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to dearer prices of gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas, higher charges for eating out, as well as increasing airfares and wages of domestic helpers; however, the rise was partially offset by lower rentals for dwellings and retreating prices of pork. Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Transport and Household Furnishings & Services surged by 7.66% and 4.46% year-on-year respectively, whereas the indices of Communication and Clothing & Footwear fell by 2.13% and 1.80%. The CPI-A (102.81) and CPI-B (102.87) saw respective growth of 0.78% and 1.10% year-on-year.
The Composite CPI for October edged up by 0.02% month-on-month. New arrival of winter clothing and rising prices of alcoholic beverages pushed up the price indices of Clothing & Footwear and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco by 0.91% and 0.67% respectively. Despite falling prices of fresh pork, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages grew slightly by 0.08% as a result of higher vegetable prices and dearer charges for eating out. On the other hand, price index of Communication decreased by 0.89% on account of reduced charges for communication services. Price index of Transport fell by 0.50% as lower airfares offset the increase in gasoline prices. The CPI-A and CPI-B inched up by 0.02% and 0.03% month-on-month respectively.
For the 12 months ended October 2021, the average Composite CPI dropped by 0.30% from the previous period (November 2019 to October 2020), with notable decline in the price indices of Communication (-7.32%) and Recreation & Culture (-7.17%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B decreased by 0.34% and 0.26% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first ten months of 2021 went down by 0.19% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B dropped by 0.24% and 0.12% 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 MOP12,000 to MOP35,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP36,000 to MOP62,999.