Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for February 2022 (103.40) rose by 0.81% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to higher wages of domestic helpers, dearer charges for eating out and electricity, along with increasing prices of gasoline and fruits; however, the rise was partially offset by lower rentals for dwellings, falling charges for telecommunication services and reduced prices of pork. Among the various sections of goods and services, the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Transport grew by 9.86% and 4.58% year-on-year respectively, whereas the index of Communication dropped by 10.51%. The CPI-A (103.20) and CPI-B (103.68) saw respective growth of 0.52% and 1.20% year-on-year.
In comparison with January, the Composite CPI for February rose by 0.09%. Higher gasoline prices and rising wages of domestic helpers pushed up the price indices of Transport and Household Furnishings & Services by 1.23% and 0.86% respectively. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages went up by 0.56% on account of increasing prices of vegetables and fresh fish, as well as dearer charges for eating out. On the other hand, price index of Communication dropped by 7.76% owing to reduced charges for telecommunication services. The CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.04% and 0.16% month-on-month respectively.
For the 12 months ended February 2022, the average Composite CPI went up by 0.36% from the previous period, and the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services (+4.79%) and Transport (+4.59%) showed a notable growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.23% and 0.52% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the first two months of 2022 rose by 0.90% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B grew by 0.63% and 1.25% 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.