Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Composite CPI for September 2022 (103.97) increased by 1.12% year-on-year. The increment was attributed to higher wages of domestic helpers and tuition fees, rising charges for eating out, as well as dearer prices of gasoline and fruits; yet, 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, price indices of Household Furnishings & Services and Education grew by 13.17% and 10.12% year-on-year respectively, whereas the index of Communication decreased by 10.07%. The CPI-A (103.58) and CPI-B (104.48) saw respective growth of 0.77% and 1.60% year-on-year.
In comparison with August, the Composite CPI for September rose by 0.19%. Higher tuition fees in the new academic year and dearer wages of domestic helpers pushed up the price indices of Education and Household Furnishings & Services by 9.89% and 2.24% respectively. On the other hand, price indices of Clothing & Footwear, Transport and Housing & Fuels recorded respective decreases of 0.60%, 0.49% and 0.25%. Price index of Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages edged down by 0.04%, as lower prices of fresh fish, seafood and fruits offset the increase in eating out charges. The CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.12% and 0.29% month-on-month respectively.
For the 12 months ended September 2022, the average Composite CPI grew by 1.09% from the previous period, and the price indices of Household Furnishings & Services (+10.18%) and Transport (+6.63%) showed notable growth. The average CPI-A and CPI-B increased by 0.81% and 1.47% respectively over the previous period.
The average Composite CPI for the third quarter of 2022 (103.90) increased by 1.21% year-on-year; the average CPI-A (103.58) and CPI-B (104.32) grew by 0.87% and 1.67% respectively. The average Composite CPI for the first nine months of 2022 rose by 1.11% year-on-year. The average CPI-A and CPI-B went up by 0.79% and 1.53% respectively.
DSEC compiles three separate CPI series to reflect the impact of price changes for goods/services on households of different expenditure ranges. The CPI-A and CPI-B relate to about 50% and 30% of the households, which have an average monthly expenditure of MOP12,000-MOP35,999 and MOP36,000-MOP62,999 respectively; meanwhile, the Composite CPI relates to all the above-mentioned households.