Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI in April 2017 increased by 0.80% year-on-year to 108.89, slightly higher than the 0.72% growth in March. The increment was attributable to higher charges for eating out and outpatient services, as well as increase in tuition fees and rising gasoline prices.
Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and Education increased by 8.44% and 7.42% respectively year-on-year, and price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages that accounted for the largest share of household expenditure went up by 0.69%. Meanwhile, price indices of Communication and Housing & Fuels dropped by 5.57% and 1.41% respectively. The CPI-A (108.98) and CPI-B (108.17) rose by 0.77% and 1.05% respectively year-on-year.
The Composite CPI in April 2017 increased by 0.10% month-to-month. Higher charges for package tours and new arrival of summer clothing pushed up the price indices of Recreation & Culture and Clothing & Footwear by 1.74% and 1.70% respectively month-to-month. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.10% on account of dearer charges for eating out, yet retreating prices of fresh fish, fresh pork, vegetables and fruits offset part of the increase. On the other hand, reduced charges for communication services pushed down the price index of Communication by 3.64%. Moreover, receding prices of alcoholic beverages, electricity and gasoline brought down the price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, Housing & Fuels and Transport by 0.24%, 0.14% and 0.10% respectively. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.09% and 0.18% respectively month-to-month.
For the 12 months ended April 2017, the average Composite CPI increased by 1.51% from the previous period, with marked increase in the price indices of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+12.65%), Education (+7.87%) and Transport (+6.58%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 1.40% and 2.42% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first four months of 2017 increased by 0.91% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.83% and 1.60% 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.