Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December 2013

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average Composite CPI for the whole year of 2013 was 123.48 and the annual inflation rate stood at 5.50%. Inflation was mainly fuelled by higher rentals for dwellings and rising charges for eating out, which drove up the inflation rate by 3.8 percentage points; meanwhile, electricity charge subsidy tapered off part of the increase. In 2013, significant increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+9.95%); Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+6.63%); and Health (+6.48%), while price index of Communication and Education decreased by 2.30% and 1.40% respectively. Moreover, the average CPI-A (123.59) and CPI-B (123.94) increased by 6.09% and 5.38% year-on-year. The Composite CPI (126.88) for December 2013 increased by 5.72% year-on-year. Remarkable increase was observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+10.78%); and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+6.44%) on account of dearer prices of fresh food and produce, rising rentals for dwellings and higher charges for eating out. On the contrary, price index of Communication decreased by 1.63%. The CPI-A (127.15) and CPI-B (127.33) for December 2013 increased by 6.27% and 5.66% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for December 2013 increased by 0.79% month-to-month. Higher prices of women's clothings & footwear and rising charges for package tours during Christmas holiday pushed up the price index of Clothing & Footwear; and Recreation & Culture by 3.19% and 2.76% respectively. Meanwhile, price index of Miscellaneous Goods & Services decreased by 0.17%. The CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.74% and 0.83% respectively month-to-month. The average Composite CPI (125.99) for the fourth quarter of 2013 increased by 5.89% year-on-year, with noticeable increase being observed in the price index of Housing & Fuels (+11.58%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 6.53% and 5.75% respectively. The 2008/2009-based Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general population. The CPI-A relates to about 50% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP6,000 to MOP18,999. The CPI-B relates to about 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP19,000 to MOP34,999.