Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for May 2021 (102.51) went down by 0.51% year-on-year, smaller than the decrease in April (-0.64%) by 0.13 percentage points.
The drop in the Composite CPI in May was attributed to falling pork prices as well as lower charges for package tours and telecommunication services; however, the decrease was partially offset by higher airfares, dearer prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and fruits, rising charges for electricity and eating out, along with increasing wages of domestic helpers. Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Recreation & Culture and Communication declined by 10.06% and 7.63% year-on-year respectively, whereas the indices of Transport and Household Furnishings & Services grew by 2.32% and 2.19%. The CPI-A (102.59) and CPI-B (102.40) saw respective decreases of 0.55% and 0.45% year-on-year.
The Composite CPI for May edged up by 0.04% month-to-month. Increasing airfares and higher gasoline prices pushed up the price index of Transport by 0.99%. Despite retreating prices of vegetables and rice, price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.10% due to higher prices of fresh fish and fruits as well as dearer charges for eating out. Meanwhile, price indices of Housing & Fuels and Recreation & Culture fell by 0.20% and 0.16% respectively, on account of receding prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and lower hotel room rates. The CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.02% and 0.07% month-to-month respectively.
For the 12 months ended May 2021, the average Composite CPI fell by 0.50% from the previous period (June 2019 to May 2020), with notable drop in the price indices of Communication (-10.23%) and Recreation & Culture (-9.21%). The average CPI-A and CPI-B went down by 0.44% and 0.60% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first five months of 2021 decreased by 0.85% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B dropped by 0.86% and 0.84% 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.