Consumer price index (CPI) for March 2016

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for March 2016 increased by 3.31% year-on-year to 108.00, down from the 3.88% growth in February. The increment was attributable to higher rentals for dwellings and parking spaces, dearer charges for eating out, as well as rising prices of tobacco, motor cars and vegetables. In comparison with March 2015, increases in tobacco tax, tuition fees, rentals for parking spaces and prices of motor cars drove up the price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Education and Transport by 37.36%, 8.97% and 7.70% respectively. Meanwhile, price index of Clothing & Footwear and Communication decreased by 2.88% and 1.20%. The CPI-A (108.15) and CPI-B (106.70) rose by 3.29% and 3.52% respectively year-on-year. The Composite CPI for March 2016 decreased by 0.36% month-to-month. Price index of Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear fell by 7.97% and 1.96% upon lower charges for package tours after the Lunar New Year and seasonal sale of winter clothing. Meanwhile, receding prices of vegetables, fruits, fresh fish and seafood pushed down the price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 0.33%. On the other hand, price index of Transport increased by 2.66% due to higher rentals for parking spaces and dearer prices of motor cars, yet declining airfares tapered off the increase. The CPI-A dropped by 0.44% month-to-month while the CPI-B rose by 0.32%. For the 12 months ended March 2016, the average Composite CPI increased by 4.21% from the previous period. Price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+26.85%), Education (+6.43%) and Housing & Fuels (+6.09%) showed marked increase. The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 4.45% and 3.35% respectively over the previous period. The average Composite CPI for the first quarter of 2016 (107.91) increased by 3.67% year-on-year, with the price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Education and Transport rising by 38.56%, 8.93% and 6.72% respectively. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 3.73% and 3.18% respectively. The Composite CPI reflects the impact of price changes on the general households. 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.