Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI in November 2018 increased by 3.12% year-on-year to 113.96, a decrease of 0.23 percentage points from the 3.35% growth in October. The increment in November was attributable to dearer charges for eating out, higher rentals for dwellings, rising parking meter rates as well as increasing prices of gasoline and adults’ clothing.
Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Education and Transport grew notably by 6.94%, 5.88% and 5.13% respectively year-on-year, while the index of Communication decreased by 6.86%. The CPI-A (114.09) and CPI-B (112.90) rose by 3.16% and 2.78% respectively year-on-year.
The Composite CPI in November 2018 rose by 0.21% month-to-month. Higher prices of winter clothing drove up the price index of Clothing & Footwear by 3.23%. Price index of Transport grew by 0.04% owing to the growth in motor car prices and airfares; yet, retreating gasoline prices offset part of the increase. On the other hand, lower prices of alcoholic beverages pushed down the price index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco by 0.69%. Despite dearer charges for eating out and higher fruit prices, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages remained virtually unchanged due to receding prices of vegetables. The CPI-A and CPI-B rose by 0.18% and 0.45% respectively month-to-month.
For the 12 months ended November 2018, the average Composite CPI rose by 2.93% from the previous period, with notable growth in the price indices of Clothing & Footwear (+6.18%), Transport (+5.22%), Health (+4.79%) and Education (+4.62%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 2.94% and 2.83% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first eleven months of 2018 grew by 3.01% year-on-year; the average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 3.03% and 2.89% 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.